


The Theory of No Control

by howl-to-the-wind (greenleaf)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dinosaurs, Alternate Universe - Jurassic Park Fusion, Alternate Universe - Jurassic World Fusion, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Derek, BAMF Stiles, BAMF Women, Bantering, Conflict of Interests, Dinosaur War, Ethical Dilemmas, F/M, M/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Mutual Attraction, Mutual Pining, Park Ranger Derek, Post-Jurassic World, Research Center, Researcher Stiles, Romance, Teasing, Territory War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-08-27 01:36:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8382802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenleaf/pseuds/howl-to-the-wind
Summary: “–kick your scrawny butt all over the Muertes Archipelago, Bilinski! Get out of there or I will feed you to a Stegosaurus!”“First of all, having me come out from here and then tossing me to the dinos kinda defeats the purpose of it all, since I already am in a dinosaur cage. Second, Stegosauruses are herbivores, which means they will definitely pass on biting my rear end. And third, my butt is not scrawny, though I didn’t know you were even looking, Coach. I’m flattered.”“BILINSKI!!”Derek groaned. “Oh no.”“Oh, yes.” Scott grinned. He ran off, no doubt excited to watch his reckless best friend and cheer him on. He was such a damn enabler.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> __  
>  **RECAP:**   
>  _Isla Nublar is where everything happens, an island off the west coast of Costa Rica and miles away from a series of islands collectively known as the Muertes Archipelago or The Five Deaths (Las Cinco Muertes in Spanish). The islands are Isla Muerta, Isla Matanceros, Isla Sorna, Isla Tacaño, and Isla Pena. All six islands are inhabited by dinosaurs._
> 
>   _After the disaster that was Jurassic Park, the facilities were demolished and deconstructed, and the island was closed off. Twenty-two years later, it was reclaimed and became the site of Jurassic World until it ended up, once again, abandoned due to a containment breach._
> 
>  
> 
> _This story is set twelve years after._
> 
>    
> \---
> 
> Inspired by the “Jurassic Park” film series and because I firmly believe Sterek can be placed in any AU, so why not this one too? Plus, I love dinosaurs, though I'm not quite well-versed on the movie series and the books. I did do a bit of research, just to make it fit canon more, with information taken from [Jurassic Park Wikia](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Jurassic_Park_Wiki). Certain dinosaurs in this fic are fictional, while others are not. If you see a link, then you know it’s the real deal. I also did minimal research so a lot of the dinosaur behaviors are either made up or based on the behaviors of other animals. All in all, I plead artistic license. Don’t sue me.
> 
> I’m thankful for the [Sterek Big Bang](http://sterek-big-bang.livejournal.com/), which helped me finally get this out, especially after the number of revisions, transfers, and crashing laptops this story has endured over the past year and a half. 
> 
> A super, gigantic, big thank you to my betas: my dear **Val** , you know I love you thiiiiiiis big, and brave **Kai** , for being such an inspiration. And a humongous, major, insane thank you to **Galadriel** and **JC** for the lovely artwork! I may have cried a little when I saw the final works, which you guys will be able to see on Chapter 5. Thank you, you gorgeous people!
> 
> * **Omne** means _'everything'_ in Latin.

Stiles felt like he was going to vibrate out of his skin, or melt into a puddle of goo, or possibly even evaporate into the nether.

He was just so _excited_.

“Come on, baby. Come on,” he muttered under his breath.

Stiles watched, wide-eyed as the cracks in the egg shell fanned out like a spider web. They continued to spread out and he bit back a squeal when he saw a curved talon half the length of his little finger poke through the gaps.

“Use those tiny talons, darling. You can do it,” he cheered softly.

There was a soft beeping in his ear and Stiles instinctively pressed the tiny button in his earpiece. The voice spoke softly; people knew better than to spook Stiles when he was in the middle of fieldwork.

 _“Dr. Stilinski, the Director is waiting for you in her office,”_ Ian said.

“Gotcha,” Stiles murmured. “Be there in twenty, possibly thirty.”

With that, Ian cut the comm. He also knew better than to engage in lengthy conversation or argue with Stiles, even when he wasn’t sure the man was actually listening to him.

“There we go, sweetheart,” Stiles muttered, focusing back on the task at hand. He let out a little squeak when the baby dinosaur finished tearing through the egg shell with its talons and tried to poke its head through the hole.

It took a few more minutes but eventually, and with an abrupt, high-pitched mewl, the baby dinosaur’s head and upper body finally broke free of its shell. It ended up tumbling sideways, making the rest of the egg crack open, and allowing baby to crawl out. It was covered in blood and membrane as it stretched its long, thin limbs and whipped its head around, big eyes taking in its surroundings for the first time.

“Perfect,” Stiles cheered softly, finally taking his eyes away from the video feed he’d been watching for nearly an hour now.

He blinked his eyes rapidly and then squeezed them shut for a few moments to take away the burn. He would have loved to watch the hatching up close, but he would gladly suffer watching through a screen if it meant he wasn’t going to be tampering with the delicate newborn.

“That was great and all, Doc, but can we go now?”

“Don’t pretend you aren’t as fascinated by this as I am, Boyd,” Stiles said. He looked back over his shoulder from where he was lying on his stomach on the forest floor, his lab coat, brown shorts and brown ranger shirt covered in dirt and mud.

Boyd gave Stiles a frankly unimpressed look from where he sat on the thick root of a tall tree. He was dressed similar to Stiles, save for the lab coat, and instead of a camera, he had a rifle slung across his lap with a finger ready on the trigger.  

Vernon Boyd III, or simply Boyd, was one of their park rangers and Stiles’ field bodyguard. The Director assigned him to the job when she realized she had no chance of ever curbing Stiles’ penchant for sneaking out of the OMNE Center, so instead tried to find someone willing to indulge Stiles’ crazy and often dangerous plans.

Boyd never once protested nor mentioned quitting his job in the three years they had been working together. Stiles knew him well enough by now to know that what seemed to be disinterest was actually due to his vigilance against any potential dangers.

“Apathesauruses, as their name suggests, are known to be very apathetic creatures, even to their own offspring,” Stiles said, tapping the screen a few times to get screenshots. “The males, which are usually smaller than the females, tend to seek out… _partners…_ for a quick lust-and-thrust–”

“Please do not say that again… ever.”

Stiles did not have to look back to know Boyd was making a face at him.

“–and after having a roaring good time, the two immediately part ways. In some cases, the females are known to even claw the males off them the moment the pterodactyls have flown the nest, if you catch my drift.”

There was a sigh behind him.

“So after a really awful one-night stand – though I guess we can’t really know for sure if it’s awful or not. I mean, dino sex could be hot–”

“Doctor,” Boyd groaned.

“–but the females are usually rather indifferent to their pregnancy and their young. When the time comes to pop the eggs out – usually five to seven at a time – they just get it over with, even giving birth while walking and just dropping them all over the place. Thankfully, Apathesauruses are sexually active all year long and the females are all incredibly fertile, so the race doesn’t completely die out and a good number manage to survive into adulthood.

“However, the lack of parental imprinting makes them naturally aggressive to every creature they encounter, even their own kind, which only reinforces their solitary natures. They are also antagonistic towards dinosaurs that move in herds, since it’s very contradictory to their nature and rarely engage them.”

“A herd is more likely to overpower a solitary creature after all,” Boyd muttered.

Stiles grinned. He knew his faithful bodyguard was much more curious and attentive than he let on.

He paused for a moment and watched as the baby Apathesaurus finally stumbled off, trying to find a meal. Only time would tell if it survived and, despite being an academic first and knowing the realities of the dinosaur kingdom, Stiles still felt a pang of sadness at seeing it have to explore the world all on its own.

“Boyd, remind me to call my Dad when we get back,” he sighed wistfully.

Boyd simply grunted an affirmative. He could probably guess what Stiles was feeling.

“Now we can go,” Stiles said, straightening on silent feet. He packed his camera and devices away and pulled out a stun gun for protection.  “Ian said I have a meeting and Lydia’s definitely going to strangle me if I make her wait any longer.”

Boyd led the way back to their blue Jeep Wrangler that Stiles had lovingly nicknamed Roscoe. They got in and drove off, heading back to the OMNE Center.

Stiles glanced back at the tree line one last time before his earpiece beeped and he returned to work.

 

 

 

 

After the massive disaster that was Jurassic World, leaders and ambassadors from all over the world decided to put a stop to the theme park madness that seemed to circle Isla Nublar, the Muertes Archipelago, and all of its dinosaur inhabitants. Coming together as the organization AMBER, they worked together against those that threatened to exploit the resurrected creatures and their homes – no more kidnapping, no using them for the military or taking them to the mainland, and no more recreating, cloning, or producing genetically modified hybrids.

However, no one could deny that the place was still a goldmine of scientific possibilities, the kind that could not, and should not, be ignored. Which is why, after years of careful planning, there came the rise of OMNE, a research facility built on the remains of Jurassic World and bound by the strictest of laws to protect, preserve, and study the islands.

As such, OMNE’s researchers all had to abide by the center’s stringent policies. Their entire methodology of study had to be approved months ahead of time, and if they plan to bring a dinosaur into the study, there should be no other dinosaur of the same danger level around. After that, they only had a week at best to do as much research as they could.

That was why most of their researchers had shorter studies or progressed slowly due to the policy’s constraints. Not everyone was like Stiles, who actually preferred venturing out into the islands for days or weeks at a time to observe the animals in their natural habitat.

Some people called it ‘lack of self-preservation skills.’ Stiles preferred to think of it as ‘being dedicated to the job.’

Overall, everyone seemed happy enough to obey the rules. They had had enough disasters from their theme park-loving predecessors, and no one wanted to repeat those mistakes for the _third_ time.

OMNE’s quest to protect such incredible creatures was a cause Stiles supported wholeheartedly. Add to that his fascination with dinosaurs and it became a childhood dream of his to work on the islands.

He was over the moon when, four years ago, Lydia Martin, Director for OMNE, personally invited him to be their head animal (dinosaur, specifically) behaviorist. One month later, he was on a plane headed to Puerto Rico, then a boat headed to Isla Nublar. The day he arrived, he met the people he’d eventually come to think of as family – trainer Scott McCall, engineer Erica Reyes, chief geneticist Kira Yukimura, the whole team…

…including their head trainer, Derek Hale, who introduced Stiles to his first dinosaurs, Holmes and Watson, the [Velociraptors](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Velociraptor), and Cedric, the baby [Triceratops](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Triceratops).

Stiles fell in love.

You can guess with whom.

 

 

 

 

Derek didn’t have a free hand to spare so he tilted his head to the side and awkwardly tried to wipe the sweat off his face on his shoulder. He kept his grip gentle just under the baby [Parasaurolophus](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Parasaurolophus)’ middle, guiding her as she shuffled towards her food at the other side of the pen.

The baby girl – nicknamed Panpy – was taken in two weeks ago after her sickly mother passed away. As was policy here at OMNE, there were parameters set to keep the rangers from interfering with any of the dinosaurs and their natural progression. Plus, Parasaurolophus moved in herds and were known to adopt orphans, so it wasn’t like the baby would be left alone.

However, she seemed to have contracted some of her mother’s sickness and was not only born premature and weak, but also with one foreleg shorter than the other. It made balance and basic motor functions extremely difficult.

After getting the green light from AMBER, OMNE took her in and decided to help.

That was where Derek came in.

“Hey, man.”

Derek looked up and nodded in greeting as Scott McCall, one of their other dino trainers, approached. The smiling male stuck to the side of the pen and away from the baby dinosaur. Panpy spooked easily in the presence of strangers, save for Derek, who had gone through great pains to earn her trust.

“Houdini’s gone?” he asked, turning back to the baby in his arms.

“Yep. Finally let the little guy go.” Scott sniffed a little, smile turning into a soft frown. “At least he seemed to get along with the new pack we left him with.”

Scott was in charge of a small [Hypsilophodon](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Hypsilophodon) they nicknamed Houdini, a sprightly little thing that was good at hiding in the oddest nooks, crannies and corners of his pen. OMNE took him in after Scott found an egg while out on patrol, still intact among the carnage of his siblings and parents from a territory war among the dinosaurs. OMNE didn’t usually take in orphans, but Stiles backed Scott up and not even Lydia could say no to the formidable combination of Scott’s puppy eyes and the requests of her head scientist.

Panpy let out a little grunt and took a few wobbly steps towards some leafy greens set out for her, making little snorts and mewls as if her food would come closer if she called for it. They were just a few steps away and Derek spoke softly to her to encourage her.

“By the way,” Scott drawled and even with his back turned, Derek could feel the shit-eating grin he had on his face right now. “Lover boy’s safe and sound, so you can relax.” He paused. “Well, as safe as he could be considering he’s in a meeting with Lyds right now.”

Derek glared at him before turning back to the baby. Panpy’s prosthetic was fitted about a week ago and her progress had been immense. Derek gently kept her belly up, as she heaved the last few steps, mewling happily once she clamped her jaws around a branch of tree leaves.

He grinned and left Panpy to it, making sure she could balance by herself. She wasn’t likely to move until she was done eating, and then it’ll be nap time, leaving Derek with two and a half hours at the most to spend with Archie and Mitchie.

Derek stroked the long crest projecting from the rear of Panpy’s skull before letting her go. She grunted, shaking her head at him as he stepped away. Parasaurolophuses had a naturally pleasant temperament and could be very sweet to those who treated them kindly.

Scott tossed him a towel and nodded. “Panpy’s doing well.”

“We’re lucky to have gotten to her quickly. At this age, she’ll adapt easier and is less likely to start clawing the prosthetic off,” Derek said.

“What’s the time frame then?” Scott asked as Derek exited the pen and waved at the rangers in charge while he was gone.

Derek wiped his arms first before shrugging on his brown ranger polo. His trousers were unsalvageable with dust and Panpy’s slobber, so he would have to make do until he had time to change.

“We want her out of the facility within the week so that she can assimilate back into her old herd as soon as possible. She has another fitting for her prosthetic tomorrow and we’ll concentrate on getting her used to that before testing her balance. Then we’ll take her out on the field for a bit to see how she manages.”

“Tracking device?”

“In the prosthetic,” Derek said. “Isaac and Erica are still torn about what materials to use – something sturdy but flexible that can withstand the baby’s bulk as she grows older and heavier, but hopefully minimize the number of times we have to replace it before she reaches the age of maturity.”

“I guess that explains all the drilling and hammering coming from the warehouse,” Scott said, musing about their resident veterinarian, sweet Isaac Lahey, and materials engineer, the beautiful and vivacious Erica Reyes.

“That, and Erica’s raising hell to get clearance on having a T-Rex step on it as a load test, which will just end up irritating the damn dinosaur, seriously,” Derek muttered. Scott snickered at that.

The two were getting close to Archie and Mitchie’s paddock and shared a look when they heard Finstock’s shrill voice shouting to the high heavens.

“–kick your scrawny butt all over the Muertes Archipelago, Bilinski! Get out of there or I will feed you to a Stegosaurus!”

Derek groaned. “Oh no.”

“Oh, yes.” Scott grinned. He ran off, no doubt excited to watch his reckless best friend and cheer him on. He was such a damn enabler.

“First of all, having me come out from here and then tossing me to the dinos kinda defeats the purpose of it all, since I already am in a dinosaur cage. Second, Stegosauruses are herbivores, which means they will definitely pass on biting my rear end. And third, my butt is not scrawny, though I didn’t know you were even looking, Coach. I’m flattered.”

“BILINSKI!!”

Derek jogged towards the commotion and groaned once more at the sight.

Bobby Finstock, also known as Coach, was the park’s game warden and head of all the park rangers and dinosaur trainers. A former wildlife hunter, he was an eccentric man, but still smart and crafty when it came to dealing with dinosaurs. His methods and demeanor sometimes put him at odds with the Center's scientists and doctors with their often unrealistic expectations, foolhardy methods, and insane ideas.

Case in point: his never-ending war with Dr. Stilinski.

The younger rangers and trainers were wide-eyed and panicking, while the older and more experienced ones were either watching in amusement or continuing their work, far too used to the sight. In the middle of it all was Finstock, standing outside the cages, shrieking and waving his fist threateningly at Stiles.

…Stiles, who was walking along the inner gate of the paddock.

The Center's paddocks varied in sizes, enough to accommodate almost any of the island’s inhabitants. Each one was adorned with plant life and, in some cases, an artificial pond to emulate the dinosaurs’ natural habitat. At any given time though, only half of the cages were full for security reasons.

Speaking of security reasons, OMNE also spent their money on more than just the dinos’ living conditions.

Each of the paddocks had three layers of gates, even the baby dino pen. Gate One, the innermost, was the first barrier to the dinosaur’s domain. Gate Two, which also allowed access to the overhead balcony, was encoded to let only certain individuals get in, such as head trainers like Derek, high-ranking rangers like Boyd, researchers like Stiles, and the dinos' assigned caretakers. Gate Three opened up to let almost any of the staff in. It was the thickest, heaviest gate and had a closing mechanism that reacted faster than the other two to prevent any outbreaks.

Some would think three gates were excessive, but they all knew to err on the side of caution.

Right now Stiles was in between Gates One and Two, which he was technically allowed to be in, but not without the Director’s permission, without Finstock’s permission, without anybody to accompany him, and certainly not when it was close to dinosaur feeding time.

“Dude, awesome!” Scott cheered, arms in the air. He flinched and lowered them when Finstock rounded on him. “Er… sorry?”

The ever dependable Boyd was already at the gates, swiping his pass across the sensor and ready to fish the demented doctor out of the paddock he’d thrown himself in.

Even when at the OMNE Center, Boyd was still mostly in charge of Doctor Stilinski, especially when he was acting like an idiot around dinosaurs… which was all the time. It was a marvel Boyd hadn’t had a heart attack, or tried to shoot the man. Or even toss him to the dinosaurs, as was Finstock’s favorite threat.

“Stiles,” Derek growled. He brushed past Finstock, who was red-faced, panting, and taking a breather from shouting at Stiles to berate Scott for his inappropriateness. “Stiles, get the fuck out of there! If you lose a hand, or a limb, or your face to Archie and Mitchie, I’m going to punch you!”

Stiles snorted and waggled his eyebrows at him. “Punch me with your mouth and I’ll consider coming out.”

Scott chortled in the background. Boyd sighed.

“STILES!”

An ear-piercing trill erupted in the air and made everyone pause. Boyd and Derek glanced at one another.

Even from a distance, Derek could see Stiles’ grin of victory and read the _“Oh, yes,”_ from his lips.

A [Guanlong ](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Guanlong)emerged from the shade of the trees and stepped towards Stiles’ direction. It had a red head crest and was snarling and snapping its teeth at its prey, the feather quills on its head rattling in anger. It was accompanied by another Guanlong, this one with a yellow and orange head crest and snarling in the same way.

Archie and Mitchie, with the red and yellow head crests respectively, were mated Guanlongs brought in to OMNE two days ago. They were transported to the Center from Isla Pena for a behavioral research being done by, ironically enough, Stiles, who was obsessed with the three-meter tall, carnivorous creatures.

As a trainer, Derek could understand Stiles’ interest. Guanlongs were smart, agile, and unpredictable. They seemed to display nothing but instinct and extreme aggression, traits that made them one of the most dangerous predators around despite their size.

However, their demeanor changed almost completely when around their pack, mates and offspring. Stiles had even documented several instances over the years where Guanlongs displayed protectiveness over their young, adopted orphans, and even saved pack members in danger.

Family – that was the heart of all of Stiles’ research.

Sentimental it might be, but the study of the behavior of dinosaurs in packs, especially their interaction with their young, pretty much paved the way into reintroducing dinosaurs to the public. Where before Jurassic World focused on the scare factor, Stiles worked hard to present these creatures in a more relatable light.

In effect, Guanlongs became Stiles’ poster children (animals? dinosaurs?) in his campaign – aggressive and fierce, but tight-knit with their packmates, devoted to their chosen mate, and gentle with their young. The positive reception had helped drum up support for OMNE and AMBER, and improved the confidence of researchers to approach these predators.

Derek debated over this constantly. Because the way for Stiles to engage in such research entails observing dinosaur packs in the wild, packs that usually numbered no less than ten, and usually tend to become violent when they find a strange, squishy creature intruding upon their territory.

This was the story of Derek’s life – fully supportive of Stiles’ dedication to his work and constantly pissed off at this idiot genius who seemed to have next to no survival instinct.

Like right now, Derek had to make sure that Archie and Michie didn’t kill him.

Gate Three shuddered to life and lifted a few feet off the ground, responding to Boyd’s passkey.

“Go, go!” Boyd hissed.

Derek wasted no time ducking inside. He moved briskly towards Gate Two and pressed his palm to the console.

He looked up to see the Guanlongs following Stiles’ progress along the gate, beady eyes trained on the man as he walked a little too close to the bars. Guanlongs had three fingers on each hand, tipped with razor-sharp talons. Bars or none, Stiles was still liable to get clawed.

Stiles was calm though and he walked slowly. He watched Archie approach and lowered his eyes.

Archie hissed.

Derek could imagine how furious Finstock was at the sight.

Gate Two lifted off the ground and Derek cautiously headed towards Stiles just as Archie craned his neck, feathered quills rattling.

Derek wasn’t an academic like Stiles, but he was a trainer and he knew dinosaurs. He knew how Archie and Mitchie worked. They were partners as much as they were mates. Archie was the more aggressive of the two, but Mitchie was the boss. Archie was the front liner and Mitchie was the back-up. Archie was the distraction, while Mitchie was the offense and was more likely to seize and claw Stiles in a flash.

Derek knew a lot of their tricks, probably because he’d been _almost_ clawed more times than he could count since the two arrived at OMNE.

The pair had learned to recognize Derek as well in the scant days they’ve spent together, evident in the way Mitchie suddenly snarled at his direction, tracking Derek’s progress along the gate. Archie, on the other hand, never once took his gaze off Stiles. He reared back on his haunches.

Uh-oh.

Derek darted forward just as Archie pounced, jaws wide open, teeth sharp, and a fierce snarl emanating from his core. He grabbed Stiles by the lab coat and tugged him back, pushing the Doctor behind him just as Archie snapped his strong jaws just in front of the steel bars.

Derek barely had time to blink before Mitchie suddenly charged at his other side. She managed to wedge her jaws right in between the bars, snapping and growling at them, far closer than Archie was. Both men barely took a breath before Archie did the same, flinging himself at the bars with a bang and attempting to claw his way towards them.

Derek cursed under his breath. He kept his grip tight around Stiles, pulling him close to his back and taking a few steps away from the rabid Guanlongs. Stiles was pliant against him and Derek almost thought the younger man was spooked when he snaked an arm around Derek and clung to him, but then–

“They’ve only been here for days, but their ability to assess and adapt to their surroundings is outstanding,” Stiles muttered in his ear. “And did you see that teamwork? Did you hear Mitchie do that clicking sound in her throat before Archie’s first attack? This completely supports my profile on their tactical abilities.”

“Stop gawking at them and get your ass out of the cage, Stiles,” Derek hissed.

Stiles draped himself even more across Derek’s back. “What is it about people and my butt? First it’s Finstock, now you? Don’t worry, boo. Unlike Finstock, I’ll let you touch it.”

Derek almost jumped when he felt Stiles’ other arm wrap around him until the man was effectively hugging him from behind. He hooked his chin over Derek’s shoulder and Derek could feel his warm breath against his cheek.

“So heroic,” Stiles teased. “My Prince Charming.”

Derek was going to kill the idiot.

“It’s not like you had to worry so much, boo,” the genius added, slipping into that logical tone that often made Derek want to strangle him. “I was perfectly safe, and not just because the bars are sturdy enough, but because the gap between them allows only a third of a Guanlong’s snout to fit.”

He motioned to the snarling beasts. “As for their talons, not only will they not fit through the bars with their bulk, should they attack it sideways or angled, the length of their forearms would not have been enough to reach me.”

Stiles pressed his grin to Derek’s cheek. “I was perfectly safe, but thank you for saving me. I know you’ll always come for me.”

Derek ignored the butterflies in his stomach and instead rolled his eyes.

“If you try this stunt one more time, I’m going to _let_ them claw you.”

“No, you wouldn’t. I just told you why it’s not going to work. Plus, you like me too much,” Stiles said, a grin evident in his voice.

From the other side of the bars, Archie and Mitchie hissed as they followed Stiles’ and Derek’s progress around the cages towards the exit. Archie hissed and ducked down until he was around eye level with them. Mitchie stalked forward, snout pressing against the bars, snapping her teeth at Derek’s direction.

“Fascinating. They appear to be examining us,” Stiles muttered, unafraid even as both Guanlongs snapped their teeth at him. He didn’t seem afraid even as Archie took a step forward, snout so close to the bars and warm puffs of breath sending Stiles’ hair flying.

Derek held the back of the other man’s lab coat just to be safe. The sooner he took Stiles out, the sooner he – or maybe Finstock – could yell at him for being an idiot.

Moments later and Derek was dragging Stiles through Gate Three and right into an awed-looking Scott, an exasperated Boyd, and most importantly an extremely red-faced Finstock. In fact, Coach was so angry he couldn’t even speak. Boyd just sighed, and went on to calm the other spooked rangers and spectators.

“I’m fine, Coach; nothing clawed or bitten and got all my limbs intact,” Stiles said, patting the man on the shoulder. “You can throw me into a dino cage later, but for now I need to get the footage of this. That was a bit weird. I mean, I’ve spent three years studying Guanlongs; 360 hours in captivity, plus 4,032 hours in the wild. All of that, and this? There is something here. I know it. And do you know what that means?” He asked breathlessly. “New research.”

Stiles turned to Derek, beaming brightly. “You were perfect, as always, babe. Let’s do this again sometime.” He winked at Derek cheekily, grabbed Scott, and ran off without another word.

“That’s so cool, bro,” Scott greeted loudly, punching him on the shoulder. “I mean, seriously, be careful, but it was so cool. Did you see Archie’s eyes and how he…” the words fading as the pair walked away.

Finstock finally snapped out of his rage-induced stupor. He chased after the pair.

“BILINSKI, COME BACK HERE!! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!!”

Derek rubbed his face with one hand, sighing, as Boyd popped up behind him.

“What the hell was all that about?” he asked.

Derek just shook his head.

 

 

 

  

Call it vanity or narcissism, but Stiles knew he was brilliant.

Even without his diploma and awards, it was kind of a given. Anybody who so much as thought about working for OMNE – especially those who wanted to be a part of its research division – needed to be nothing short of genius in their chosen fields. Not to mention AMBER had all their recruits jump through so many hoops of security background and clearance checks before even considering them, so every single person here was loyal, brilliant, and capable to a frightening degree.

Stiles was one of them, and he had to be the best if he wanted to keep his post.

Lydia Martin, the formidable and beautiful Director for OMNE and Ambassador for AMBER, was seated behind her large, intimidating glass desk when Stiles entered her office.

“Dr. Stilinski, did I not say we had a meeting?” she asked, not looking up as she read and signed paperwork.

Toting his computer tablet and stylus, Stiles threw himself on the comfy seat in front of her. “You did. You got a call in the time I was waiting so I stepped out for a moment.”

Lydia signed her name with a flourish and finally looked up at him. Despite being a petite woman, she had the kind of icy gaze that would have giants kneeling before her.

“Based on what I was told, you didn’t just step out. You deliberately endangered your life by entering a restricted gate zone without my permission and decided to piss off the Guanlongs… and Finstock.”

Stiles grinned shamelessly at her, and if it was possible her gaze turned even icier. He was almost sure she was going to strangle him.

Not murder. Oh no.

Lydia had personally invited him to be part of OMNE and serve as its head animal behaviorist. Stiles ended up pioneering a new field of science studying the behaviors of the resurrected dinosaurs.

So, no, she would never kill him. She’d lose all the credit for her discovery of him and his brilliance, lose all of his award-winning, research breakthroughs, and lose part of OMNE’s funding. Losing Stiles would cost her money. Not to mention Stiles actually _owed_ her money.

(They had been at the mainland and he had been so used to everything already being free and paid for at OMNE that he’d forgotten his wallet. He had been really in the mood for a burrito that time, and he’d have asked Derek, but he hadn’t been around. Thank god Lydia had felt generous at the time… except her generosity had a monthly interest. It had been worth it though. That had been a damn good burrito.)

“Finstock is absolutely furious,” she said, tapping manicured nails against the glass tabletop. “You were careless, irresponsible, and terrified everyone present. Not to mention that what you did was a blatant disregard of Finstock’s authority. I have half a mind to expel you from the program because of what you did.”

Stiles knew she wouldn’t, but he huffed, feeling genuine remorse. “I’m sorry, all right. I didn’t mean to worry everyone and overstep. I did apologize – will keep on apologizing to Coach. I wasn’t trying to egg him on or anything ~~.~~ I just really wanted to see how they were doing.”

“Well, Finstock’s threatening to quit… for the seventh time this week. And it’s only Tuesday.” Lydia sighed softly. “This thing with the Guanlongs is just the beginning, and you still have the [Kentrosaurus](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Kentrosaurus) we’re bringing in next month for your next study. So try not to pester the man, for god’s sake.” She leveled a glare at him. “The man’s heart is as strong as an ox, so we’re not in danger of losing him. But if he maims you or, god forbid, tosses you inside one of the paddocks, even I won’t hold it against him.”

Stiles sighed and raised his hands in defeat. He probably did take that one a bit too far.

“Got it.”

“And even Hale won’t be able to save your bony ass,” Lydia added, giving him a knowing look.

“Derek isn’t–” Stiles flushed. “Okay, what is it about people and my butt?”

 “It’s a cute butt. Not my type, but probably Derek’s… or a bunch of hungry, wild Guanlongs as it were.” Lydia gave him a stern look.

Stiles opened his mouth to retort, but Lydia interrupted him. “Now, how goes the field work?”

“Pretty good. I scouted Section 57-A with Boyd and we watched an Apathesaurus egg hatching,” Stiles shared, and went off on a short report on what he did that day.

“–which is more evident when you compare the Guanlongs’ behavior patterns with that of others, like say the Centradons and [Maiasauras](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Maiasaura), and most especially with the likes of the Apathesauruses,” he said. “I plan on doing a comparative analysis with all of them, so I’ll probably need a few more hours out on the field. So far though, the evidence leads to some pretty definitive conclusions.”

Even before Stiles became a part of OMNE, he had always known that his research would focus on dinosaur families or packs. The dichotomy of these fierce predators and their caring nature fascinated Stiles to a near manic degree. It was what attracted him to the Guanlongs in the first place, when he first got the inkling that they had a better grasp on the concept unlike other dinosaurs.

“More fieldwork is fine with me. Just make sure to file the necessary paperwork,” Lydia said, looking up from the documents she had resumed signing while Stiles talked. “And I expect the written report and the video log of today’s field work filed before the end of the day.”

“Ugh.” Stiles scrunched his nose at the thought. He hated paperwork. He preferred the required video log since he just needed to press ‘record’ and talked however long he wanted. The paperwork, which was a paper trail Lydia insisted upon, was the real pain in the ass.

“I can also give you clearance to utilize more of your field hours, but use them sparingly,” Lydia warned. “You only have a few dozen hours left for the month, and I am not going to give you more.”

Stiles pouted. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m never fun.” Lydia stood up, straightened her suit and skirt, then motioned for Stiles to follow her.

The control room was bustling with activity when they arrived, though the noise level hushed just a bit when everyone saw the Director coming in.

The control room was the heart of OMNE. It monitored everything that was going on around the research facility, and Lydia had spared no expense to make sure security was especially tight around here, especially after the two major botched attempts to keep on top of things – see Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.

“Yo, crazy man.”

Stiles grinned when Allison popped up behind him, placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Crazy, is right.” Danny snorted from his station. “Then again, where else are we going to find the entertainment? I await the day Coach seriously throws you in one of the paddocks.”

“I’m so happy I light up your otherwise dull life, dude.” Stiles clapped him on the back.

Danny glared at him, but it was probably because the motion dislodged the stuffed [Pterodactylus](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Pterodactylus) that hung from his laptop screen rather than Stiles’ jab. Isaac had given Danny the toy and the man had kept it faithfully ever since. For some reason though, the two were still tiptoeing around one another. Stiles wanted them to get it over with, but Scott kept mentioning Derek so… erm, Stiles chose not to comment.

Allison Argent was their chief engineer and was in charge of running the entire control center and, in essence, the whole research center. She was under pressure almost every day because of that, but she’s been living up to the challenge flawlessly. Stiles couldn’t imagine a better person for the job. Then again, he might be biased; this was his best friend’s girlfriend after all.

Danny Mahealani, on the other hand, was their head computer engineer. He knew OMNE’s system inside and out, probably because he actually built the whole system, but only a handful of people had the security clearance level to know about that.

Suddenly, there was a loud beep and Allison turned from her sweet self to her professional self.

Allison moved to Danny. “What is it?”

“Message from Commander Argent, Chief,” Danny said. “Secure line.”

“Patch it through.” Allison pressed a button on her earpiece. “Chief Argent, speaking. Come in, Commander.”

Stiles tapped his bottom lip in thought as he watched Allison, but he couldn’t get a read on her. She had a really good poker face, which was why she usually only played cards with people who could hide their emotions well, like Derek, Boyd, and Lydia. Everyone else had stopped sitting in on games with those guys because honestly things got _scary._

Stiles tapped Danny on the shoulder. “Chris was at Isla Matanceros yesterday, but I heard he crossed back to the main island this morning. Why’s he still out on the field?”

Danny shrugged. “He’s out on patrol.”

Chris Argent was their head of security operations and was also the commander of OMNE’s Asset Containment Unit or ACU division. He and his team monitored all six dinosaur islands and also ensured the safety of all the employees at OMNE.

(Oh, and he was also Allison’s dad. Seriously, these Argents were scary, but also badass. Stiles would always be impressed that Scott managed to woo Ally and win over her father. The man could just as easily kidnap him and leave him stranded at one of the islands, for god’s sake. Stiles made a mental note to remember to compliment Scott’s heart of gold… and his balls of steel.)

“I’ll patch you through,” Allison said. She turned to Lydia. “Director, the Commander wants a word.”

Lydia pressed her own earpiece. “What do you have for me? And it better be good, Chris.”

Stiles looked at both women in confusion. He wasn’t stupid. He knew Lydia and Allison, as the ones who pretty much ran the whole facility, had their secrets – and so did Danny actually, as the one who monitored everything that went on practically the entire island. They had to keep the peace and manage the dinosaurs and employees, so even Stiles knew not to stick his nosy nose into their secret calls and private meetings.

They seemed weirdly tense at the moment though, and panic usually meant one thing: dinosaurs, specifically out of control dinosaurs.

Chris was still out on the field but the alarms hadn’t been raised, which meant things were most likely under control.

Stiles slipped out of the room silently, leaving them to it. If he had to place his trust in someone to keep them safe, then he was glad that it was these people. He knew he was in capable hands.

 

 

 

 

It was a little past seven in the morning and Derek was just getting back to his trailer after a long run around the perimeter when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He wasn’t really fond of gadgets. The sharp ring of a phone or the soft beep of an earpiece could easily catch the attention of any dinosaur, and he didn’t really like being interrupted when he was working on training them. It was not because, as Stiles put it, he was a technologically-challenged caveman.

Or rather, a technologically-challenged, but still hot and very lickable caveman, as Stiles _specifically_ put it.

Not that Derek remembered or anything. He could be wrong.

Derek set his phone on speaker and placed it on the counter before he went to the fridge to grab a drink.

_“Morning, sweetie pie!”_

Speak of the devil.

Derek huffed. “What do you want?”

 _“Nothing,”_ Stiles said, sounding much too cheerful considering how early it was. _“I just missed you, is all.”_

Derek ignored the swoop in his stomach at hearing that. “You sound high. Have you even slept?”

 _“Maaaybe,”_ Stiles drawled. _“Kira’s due to arrive today. Wanna grab some breakfast, then come with me to welcome her back?”_

Derek had to stop himself from giving in too quickly, so he downed his drink before replying. “Fine.”

 _“I knew you couldn’t resist me,”_ Stiles teased. Before Derek could reply, he barreled on. _“I know you have your rounds, so see you at the Mess Hall in an hour, boo. Byeee!”_ And with that, he hung up.

Derek glanced at his phone and shook his head, a smile playing across his lips.

After a quick shower, he got dressed, grabbed his bag, and got onto his motorcycle. It was sleek, black, and its fuel tank was painted in white with the Hale family emblem, the triskele, and the initials of all of Derek’s family members. They gave the motorcycle to him as a gift after they found out that Derek was going to work for OMNE.

The other modifications that came after however, those were all Erica’s doing.

The drive to OMNE through the usual route took only fifteen minutes, ten if Derek gunned it, but he preferred taking his time along a scenic, thirty-minute route. It allowed him to tour the other trailers, warehouses, training areas, as well as the dinosaur pens and paddocks before he got to the garage. The route passed OMNE’s main building, allowing him a view of the towering, sleek, dome-shaped structure on the cliffs that overlooked the docks.

Derek made his way through the gates and nodded at the guards and the few people who greeted him. As he drove past the warehouses, he was surprised to see people milling in and out of Warehouse E – which stood for Erica, of course. It was still early and most of the workers were usually still at the Mess Hall eating breakfast.

He parked his motorcycle and jogged inside to find about ten people still on duty.

He walked past shelves of equipment; boxes of parts; long tables covered in laptops, blueprints, tools, other gadgets and knick-knacks; crates of weapons and ammo, as well as vehicles parked inside, some of which were dismantled and popped open.

Derek could see Erica at one of the long metal tables, examining one of the rifles.

Erica Reyes was their materials engineer and field equipment expert. She outfitted all their rangers and guards and was responsible for some of the more kickass modifications on their weapons and vehicles. She was also Derek’s best friend.

“Knock, knock,” Derek said, tapping his knuckles against the end of the metal table as he approached. He knew better than to startle her when she had a gun in her hands.

Erica looked up with a start anyway, pulled out of whatever complicated plans she had for the rifle. Her long hair was in a tight braid at the base of her neck and the top half of her coveralls were unbuttoned. Her face, neck and upper chest were already stained with sweat, grease and oil, so from the looks of things, she’d been here for hours, but her eyes were still lined in black and her lips were a perfect ruby red.

Derek would have fallen in love with her then and there if their relationship wasn’t so platonic, or if they both weren’t already completely devoted to different people.

“You guys are up early.”

“Haven’t slept, you mean,” Erica said. She grabbed a towel and wiped her face as Derek drew nearer. He wiped the sweat off her cheek with his gloved fingers and then kissed her there.

“An all-nighter? What for?”

“Commander Argent’s team went out on patrol twice yesterday – one group was sent out in the morning and another in the afternoon. Both teams came in late last night. We’re going through all their equipment, seeing if we need to repair or restock anything.” She motioned to the weapons in front of her and her team of engineers who were working on the helicopters, the trucks, and other weapons.

Derek made a face. “Couldn’t that have waited until today instead of last night?”

“Nope.” Erica popped her lips. “And you know I got orders from up top to make sure the Commander’s unit is always prepped, so I had to check these bad boys the moment they came in… especially since both teams are being deployed again in a few hours.”

“What? Why?”

Erica blew a strand of hair off her face. “Beats me.”

Chris and the ACU served as the primary security force of OMNE. They weren’t often sent out on consecutive deployments because they left most of the patrol duties to each islands’ DPUs – Designated Patrol Units.

In fact, if Derek remembered correctly, the last time they needed the ACU was three months ago on a rescue mission to Isla Tacaño, when a territory dispute between two warring [Monolophosauruses](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Monolophosaurus) ended up trapping a four-man team of botanists who were retrieving samples of the island’s plant life. The watchtower was too far so they had to resort to taking shelter among the branches of a large tree that overshadowed where the two creatures decided to tear into each other.

Derek looked around at all the equipment and weapons. “Anything we need to be concerned about?”

Erica placed her hands on her hips and looked down at the equipment. “They’re not shooting at anything, that’s for damn sure. I shipped crates of ammo with them on their first deployment to Isla Matanceros and they don’t need a restock. They did ask for more sleepers and flares though, and are borrowing the excavator.”

She shrugged. “They’re probably just casing one of the dinosaurs on the researchers’ queue list.”

It made sense, kind of. They usually put the dinosaurs to sleep before and after taking them in. They tried to keep the dinosaurs unaware of where exactly home base was located, but…

Derek frowned. “That doesn’t explain the excavator.”

Erica shook her head. “The Commander has his methods in cornering and retrieving dinosaurs. He knows what he’s doing.”

Derek rubbed his jaw in thought and let it go. She was probably right.

“All that aside. Have you even eaten breakfast yet?”

“Boyd’s bringing me some,” Erica said, her smile growing fond.

“How sweet.” Derek grinned when she swiped at him with a cloth.

She scoffed. “You’re one to talk. How about your sweet, little, mad doctor?” She grinned evilly. “I heard all about his stunt with Archie and Mitchie and how you gallantly came to his rescue.”

Derek’s ears and neck burned, but he scoffed. “If Stiles was clawed, Lydia, not to mention Scott, would have found a way to blame me. I was saving myself the trouble.”

“Reeeally.” Erica smirked. “Seriously, Der. It’s getting really depressing. I mean, Stiles likes you back anyway, so just grab him, kiss him and go make out by the paddocks or something.”

Derek didn’t know what to address first in that statement. He settled on, “…the paddocks?”

Erica shrugged. “Hey, you’re both into dinosaurs. I thought you’d find it kinky.” She poked his arm. “Just get it over with, for god’s sake. You guys actually make a pretty good pair.”

It wasn’t like Derek hadn’t thought about it. Despite what everyone believed, he wasn’t an idiot. He knew he and Stiles had _something_ going on, and while he acted grumpy about it, he had never denied that he thought highly and fondly of the crazy man. He just wasn’t the type of guy who made the first move. He knew what he looked like, okay? And after years of having to guess people’s intentions and being in a handful of really awful relationships that crashed and burned, he couldn’t find the courage to step up.

He wasn’t really sure what Stiles thought and felt about him anyway, no matter what other people said. They were a little more than friends, yes, but there was still a chance Derek and everybody else could be wrong.

Dinosaurs he could handle.

Stiles’ rejection? No way.

Derek shook his head. “I’ve got to run.”

Erica pouted and he kissed her cheek to show her there were no hard feelings. “Stiles and I are having breakfast together.” When Erica grinned too widely, he added, “And then we’re meeting Kira after. She’s coming back today.”

“That’s today?” Erica bounced on her heels. “I’ll drop by the lab after I get some shut-eye. I’m about to crash. Tell Kira she’d better have brought presents.”

Derek smiled to himself and waved over his shoulder as he made his way out. He got onto his motorcycle and drove off.

He took a detour by the pens first, slowing down to check on Panpy, who was already awake and ready to eat. She gave a little whine when she spotted him and Derek stayed in sight as she munched through her leafy breakfast. It was good to associate himself with a dino’s happy feelings.

Archie and Mitchie, on the other hand, were hard to spot through the plants and foliage in their paddock, but the heat sensors picked up the two dinosaurs rolling around their nest.

The other dinosaurs were also starting their breakfasts, waking up, or playing.

Derek eventually reached the garage and parked his motorcycle. Force of habit made him lock it securely, not that it really made a difference. Everybody knew it was his and they worked together, so it wasn’t likely to get stolen; plus, most people were wary of Derek and his muscles and his bonds with vicious, carnivorous dinosaurs.

That was, of course, except for one person. Guess who.

Derek arrived at the Mess Hall just in time and immediately spotted Stiles. He was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt, shorts and his favorite lab coat and was flailing as he talked to Isaac, Scott and Allison. He jogged over to them.

“Morning, Derek!” Isaac and Scott greeted.

“Good morning,” Allison said, smiling.

“Got you a tray, babe,” Stiles said, grinning and waving him to sit beside him. “All your favorites, ‘cept I already took a bite of some, but you’ll forgive me anyway.” He winked.

Derek ignored the knowing looks from the other three and rolled his eyes at Stiles. He sat down beside the man, and almost immediately Stiles pressed close and then continued to regale their friends with stories of his research.

Derek settled in and ate his breakfast, which was a hearty selection of scrambled eggs, cereal with milk, bacon, toast, fruit, and orange juice. One of the advantages of working at a well-funded facility was that they had an excellent menu. That, and the Directress was strict about serving healthy and well-balanced meals. Despite having chosen to be here, they were stuck on an island with the same people twenty-four-seven with predators knocking on their doors; a good meal would go a long way.

Derek worked around the fingers and the fork that kept darting in and out of his plate. Stiles had gotten enough for two anyway so Derek nudged his portions over to the side for easy reach and resolutely ignored Allison’s knowing grin from across the table. He kept half an ear on the conversation.

“–which is why their eggs have a bluish tint,” Isaac was explaining.

“Well, blue eggs or not, lucky that the rangers didn’t step on it,” Scott said.

“We decided to  incubate it for now, but we’re going to move it out to the field soon,” Isaac said. “We don’t want to risk the baby imprinting on us instead of an adopted parent or something.”

Stiles snorted. “Dude, the baby will have a hell of a time if it imprinted on you.” He poked Isaac on the shoulder. “You’re like the nicest person ever and you’d probably spoil the thing.”

It was true. Isaac was the youngest of their resident veterinarians, but because of his gentle nature he was usually placed in charge of the delicate matters, like looking after the eggs and newborns.

“Stiles is more likely to train the dinos to do tricks or change the TV channel for him,” Allison teased.

“Or play video games!” Scott exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“Or scare people, like Coach Finstock,” Stiles cheered, and two best friends gave each other a high five.

Derek snorted at their antics.

Suddenly there was the sound of beeping and Derek watched in amusement as everybody save for himself looked through their pockets for their phones or held their hands to their earpieces. Derek’s phone was silent and unmoving in his jeans. See? This was why he avoided those things.

“Mine. It’s Lydia,” Isaac said, scanning the message before standing up with his tray. “She’s dropping by the lab to see the egg.” His phone beeped again and he beamed at the message. “And she’s bringing scones!”

“NO FAIR!” Scott and Stiles immediately whined.

Isaac grinned triumphantly before walking off, waving over his shoulder.

Derek wasn’t surprised. Isaac was actually Lydia’s favorite and not Stiles, despite public opinion. Case in point: scones were actually Isaac’s favorite; Lydia preferred croissants.

“We should be going anyway,” Derek said, holding up the last bite of toast. As he expected, Stiles leaned forward and ate it, tongue swiping lightly against his fingers. Derek felt sparks prickle up his arm at the contact.

“Yeah, Kira’s chopper is gonna be here soon,” Stiles said, speaking through his mouthful. He grabbed Derek’s juice and took a sip before grabbing the whole tray. “I got it, Der.”

Stiles dutifully lifted the tray and ran off to return it. Derek ignored Scott and Allison’s teasing looks.

“You two act so domestic sometimes,” Scott said, pointing his fork at him. “Which is really ironic since you guys aren’t dating.”

“They _are_ dating in their own way. They’re just denying it,” Allison amended. “Like the idiots they are.”

Derek glared at Allison. “Don’t you have a control room to get to?” He turned to Scott. “And don’t you have paddocks to inspect?”

“Spoilsport,” Scott said, while Allison rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Der,” Stiles said, jogging towards them. “Kira just sent me a text. She’s almost here. Later taters.” He wiggled his fingers at Scott and Allison before running off, leaving Derek to catch up.

The corridors and halls were fairly quiet as they walked, with the staff still either at the Mess Hall or  getting ready for the day. Derek liked it, liked how it felt like it was just him and Stiles as they walked and talked, hands brushing with every step and Stiles’ eyes big, bright and beautiful as he told him excitedly about maybe getting a week off next month to see his Dad.

“Or maybe he can come here,” Stiles said. “The last time he came was last year. You remember we took him to the underwater observatory to see the [Kronosaurus](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Kronosaurus), right? But I really wanna go out and stretch my legs on the mainland, you know? Maybe we could take a trip somewhere.”

“I’m sure that all he wants is to spend time with you, Stiles,” Derek said.

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, a pleased smile on his face. “Well, yeah, but I’m just really excited.” He looked bashful and sweet, and Derek had to resist the urge to kiss him.

“Um, you’re taking your week off next month too, right?”

Derek nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be going back to New York to see everybody. It’ll be in time for my grandmother’s birthday. I’ll get to see everyone.” He turned to Stiles. “You…” He cleared his throat, already feeling a flush creep up on his neck and blot his cheeks. “You’ll be in California, but you… if you… if there’s time…”

“We can meet up!” Stiles blurted out. For a moment, he looked horrified at having said that, but Derek immediately nodded.

“I would like that.”

Stiles’ expression went from horrified to pleased. He smiled, cheeks pinking up. “Yeah, we could… we could totally hang out. Um, we could even book the same flight and go back…”

“Together? Yeah, I wanted to say the same thing,” Derek said softly. He smiled at Stiles’ absolutely ecstatic grin.

“I’d like that,” Stiles said softly, fingers brushing against the back of Derek’s hand.

Derek was tempted to reach over and hold his hand, but he settled for linking their fingers together briefly instead. Stiles’ grin was blinding.

 

 

 

 

Stiles felt like he was on cloud nine and was only halfway paying attention as he and Derek watched the chopper descend onto the helipad. He couldn’t believe he and Derek actually made plans to spend a few days together outside of work. Granted that it was weeks away, but it was still something.

Ever since he met Derek a few years ago, Stiles had nursed a massive crush on him that grew as time passed. He had eyes, duh, and Derek was gorgeous from head to toe; even more so when he was scruffy and dirty and looking after dinosaurs. Stiles couldn’t deny that he had half-fallen in love with the man when Lydia pointed Derek out on Stiles’ first day as watched him train with some Velociraptors.

Not that he had much time to ogle or get to know Derek considering how much they used to argue.

During Stiles’ first year on the island, he was crazy busy all day, every day. He had to establish his new practice surrounding dinosaur behavior, set up OMNE’s research policies, train the other staff members, and figure out how they were going to study and treat these creatures. OMNE was also in its first year then and they were all under an extreme amount of pressure to prove just how effective the facility could be; Lydia more so than anybody.

That first year was the foundation of Stiles’ friendship with her. They’d both put in late nights, blood (literally in Stiles’ case with the dinos), sweat, and tears, and been through almost every single scenario and trial together.

That was what solidified them as a family at OMNE as they all worked and struggled together to protect their craft and prove their passion to naysayers.

Stiles’ happy bubble of reminiscing burst the moment the chopper landed and the door was thrown open by none other than his arch nemesis.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Stiles shrieked.

Derek, the jerk, just chuckled.

They watched as Jackson got out of the chopper, dressed to the nines in his tailored suit and pretentiously shiny shoes. He then offered his hand to help Kira down, looking adorable in a floral dress and leather boots. They both headed quickly towards the safety deck where Stiles and Derek waiting.

Jackson gave them both a snooty look and said, voice dripping with disdain, “Well, this takes the _welcome_ out of the welcoming party.”

Stiles glared, and responded with a very mature, “Go jump off the roof, Whittemore.”

Jackson Whittemore, with his flashy hair and ridiculous clothes, served as OMNE’s legal counsel and was always going back and forth between the facility and AMBER’s office on the mainland.

He was Stiles’ mortal enemy, and the feeling was perfectly mutual.

The douche was nothing like Kira Yukimura, their chief geneticist, who was all sunshine, rainbows, and puppy dog eyes.

Stiles set about ignoring Jackson and moved to give Kira a welcoming hug.

“Hey, gorgeous. How was the conference?”

“It was all right,” Kira said, shrugging. “They’ve got some new proposals and projects, so I’ll probably be drowning in paperwork in the next few weeks.”

“And how was the trip? Got bored with Douchemore for company?” Stiles snickered.

“Shut up, moron,” Jackson growled, breaking away momentarily from his conversation with Derek. Stiles still couldn’t believe those two actually get along, but for some reason Jackson held a healthy amount of respect for Derek.

(He would be jealous if he didn’t know that Lydia had her pet… fine, _boyfriend_ , on a very short leash.)

Kira waved a hand between them, abating the impending argument. “Hey, the trip was all right and Jackson was lovely company.” Jackson grinned smugly while Stiles made a face.

“Pleasantries aside, is everything ok here at home base?” Kira asked.

Stiles shrugged. “Well, Coach did threaten to toss me in the Stegosaurus paddock when I tried to play with Archie and Mitchie, but that’s like your average morning.”

“Idiot.” Derek snorted. He sounded too fond for Stiles to take offense though.

“That would have been a good welcome back present,” Jackson said. He stepped back with a frown and a glare when Stiles tried to kick his shin.

“You didn’t happen to see anything from up there did you?” Derek suddenly asked.

“Hm? Why?” Kira asked, looking between Stiles and Derek.

“No commotion? Nothing out of place?” Derek asked. “No dinosaurs?”

Derek had told Stiles about the situation with Erica, then Stiles told Derek in turn about Commander Argent, Allison, and Lydia. Needless to say, they were both suspicious.

Kira and Jackson glanced at one another, confused.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Jackson chimed in. “Our flight was fine, though we had to take another route when a few Pterodactyls and a [Dimorphodon](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Dimorphodon) crossed our path, but there’s nothing there.”

“Awww.” Stiles cooed. “Look at him pretending to be all knowledgeable about dinosaurs.”

Jackson looked like he was tempted to beat Stiles to death with his suitcase.

(Stiles really was just kidding though, because Jackson couldn’t very well serve OMNE if he was clueless about dinosaurs. Not to mention that Lydia would most likely chop his balls off if he didn’t study up on the creatures.)

“As for the dinosaurs, we didn’t see or hear anything,” Kira spoke up. “And Lydia hasn’t raised an alert, so it’s probably nothing. Nothing to worry about.”

“That is true,” Jackson agreed immediately. “Best we get it out of our heads.

“I’ll head in first, Kira. I’ve set a briefing for later this afternoon around four,” he said, checking his ridiculously expensive watch. Stiles was tempted to throw it inside a T-Rex or something, with Jackson still attached.

“Sure thing,” Kira said, dimpling up at him. “And I’ll set a meeting with the other departments asap.”

“Including me?” Stiles asked. He ignored Jackson’s mutters of _‘unfortunately.’_

“Yes, Stiles, including the behavioral research department,” Kira said.

Stiles made a face. He hated meetings, especially meetings with Jackson.

“I’ll go on ahead too,” Derek said. “It was nice seeing you, Kira.” He turned to Stiles, eyebrows rising in question.

“Dinner. I’ll text you,” Stiles said, smiling.

Derek nodded, and then walked off with Jackson, talking amiably. Stiles would never understand why those two get along.

Stiles turned to Kira. “You hungry?”

Kira shook her head. “I’m good. I’d rather go back to my lab, to be honest. I’m experiencing a bit of separation anxiety with my desk. Besides, Jackson brought me breakfast.” At Stiles’ face, she laughed. “You two might butt heads a lot of the time, but Jackson is an okay guy. He has his moments.”

Stiles and Kira walked the other way, talking excitedly about what’s been happening around OMNE and how things were with AMBER. On the way there, Stiles’ earpiece beeped.

Ian’s voice came on. _“Dr. Stilinski, I’ve been asked to inform you that the Directress has approved your fieldwork hours with the Guanlongs. Please submit the necessary paperwork the week before your planned observation and take note that this will be your final trip out of the center for the month.”_

“Thanks, Ian,” Stiles said. At Kira’s questioning look, he explained.

“You should really be more careful,” she said, pinching his arm lightly. “I know you enjoy fieldwork more than most people, but you’re always too impulsive and reckless.”

Stiles made a face, but conceded that point to her. “Sorry. It’s just… I get so excited. I know it’s more convenient to study them in captivity, but that’s not the point of my work.”

Kira smiled softly. “It’s the difference between our jobs. I do it better in comfort and surrounded by my tech, while you would be perfectly happy stalking through the forest and climbing trees just to watch your babies.”

“What can I say? I’m a passionate man,” Stiles said, waggling his eyebrows and making Kira laugh.


	2. Chapter Two

Three days later, bright and early, found Derek with a small team ready to head out to the field. Today was Panpy’s balance training and field evaluation, and they wanted to get in an early start. There was nothing worse than being stuck out in the jungle at night and with an easily spooked baby dinosaur.

Erica was yawning widely and Derek was worried about her. She’d been pulling all-nighters for a few days now taking care of the ACU’s equipment. Not to mention that the team asked for a refill of ammo yesterday, meaning they resorted to using bullets in whatever mission they had. Erica was hesitant to supply them, not least of all because they had a strict no-kill policy at OMNE, except for when strictly necessary. She didn’t really have a choice though when papers from up top came saying that the Director had given them permission to proceed.

Things were getting serious, and nobody had a clue as to what was really going on.

…or rather, nobody below the required security clearance level was aware of what was really going on.

“You sure you’re okay with coming, Erica?” Derek asked.

Erica elbowed him a bit painfully in the side. “For the fourth time, Derek, I am coming with you. In case you’ve forgotten, I do need to see how the new prosthetic works and I’m not into relying on video footage for my assessment.” She patted Derek’s arm. “I know I look tired and I am, but I’ll get some shut eye after this, I swear. Even Boyd’s been on my case about it.”

“Be careful! Go slow! We don’t want to jolt the cage!” Isaac waved his arms in the air, directing the trainers who were gently rolling a platform containing the unconscious Panpy into the transport truck. As Panpy’s veterinarian, not to mention the one who administered the sedative, he was also coming along.

One of the stipulations regarding the dinosaurs taken into the facility was that they were transported in and out of OMNE unconscious. They weren’t quite sure about a dino’s memory, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. No one wanted to lead the deadly creatures into home base.

Once Panpy was strapped in, Isaac waved at Derek and Erica.

“We’re good here!” Isaac said.

“Equipment’s ready too!” Erica called out.

Derek waved a hand at the other rangers coming with them. “Get your stuff! We’re moving out!”

Erica and two other rangers headed towards the truck and got in, while Isaac hitched a ride at the back to be with Panpy. Derek hitched a leg over his motorcycle and checked his earpiece before driving ahead of the truck.

Their designated drop off point was a field by a river twelve kilometers away, one of the thirteen points around the island approved by OMNE and the ACU. These were areas regularly patrolled,  deemed safe,  and close enough to HQ or the various OMNE watchtowers for people to run to should there be any incidents or emergencies while out on the field.

Derek was riding about five minutes ahead of the truck and had already checked it to be safe and dino-free by the time Erica pulled up behind him. Now it was just a matter of getting everything set up, waiting for Panpy to wake up, and then starting her evaluation.

“Harry, Bill, roll Panpy out so Erica could check the prosthetic. Don’t forget to be gentle,” Derek said as Erica, Isaac, and the two rangers got off the truck. “Isaac and I will get the camera and the scanners and the rest of the gear. Keep a close eye out for any hostiles, people.”

The forest was beautiful at this time of the morning, the air cool, the sounds of birds and dinosaurs chirping and squawking cheerfully, and the sound of the river running. The team worked quickly and efficiently and in no time at all, everything was set up and ready.

Derek was taking a breather and checking his rifles, tasers, and ammo when his earpiece beeped. He pressed the button and what filtered through was a voice message not a call.

 _“Morning, babe!_ ” came Stiles’ chirpy greeting. _“You’re probably at the field right now with queenie and the puppy looking after Panpy. Say hi to the baby for me, hope her evaluation goes well. I’m not going to be having as much fun as you guys are; going to be at a meeting with K, Lyds, douchebag, and everybody else. Call me when you’re on your way back. Byeee…!”_

Derek couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face at that. He wasn’t the type to send back a voice message, but he did fire off a quick text message before Isaac waved a hand in the air.

The sedatives were administered early on and timed well enough so that Panpy woke up around the same time she usually did on a regular day. Now she was stirring a little, rolling side-to-side and mewling. She opened her eyes and Derek quickly hustled over to her before she could panic at seeing strangers.

It was time to get to work.

 

 

 

 

Stiles pinched his thigh for the third time in ten minutes as he half-listened to Kira talk about something or the other.

Don’t get him wrong. He loved Kira like a sister, but meetings were boring as fuck. Not to mention he had to resist the urge to throw paper balls at Jackson’s coiffed head across the table.

He noticed Lydia glaring at his direction and Stiles straightened in his seat, turning back to Kira’s presentation.

The meeting was quite important all things considered, and usually Stiles would jump at the chance to discuss AMBER’s proposals, protocols, policies and other news pertinent to OMNE and their jobs. Stiles was usually up for a healthy debate, because despite AMBER’s noble goals towards the care and preservation of the dinosaurs, they often had very idealistic and unrealistic views since some of them were not actual scientists, doctors, or trainers.

But the thing was, Stiles was incredibly distracted because he couldn’t help thinking that Derek was _outside_ , in the field, playing with the dinosaurs.

…Derek was working, fine, and it was dangerous, whatever, but Stiles wanted to be outside too.

 _‘Panpy’s waking up soon. Tell you how it goes over dinner later. See you. Try not to fight with Jax and annoy Lyds too much,’_ was Derek’s text message and it made Stiles even more eager to go outside.

“…the paperwork so far,” Jackson was saying when Stiles clued back in. “AMBER is still waiting for the third amendment before they decide. It’s all going quite well, but the representatives from China are insisting on…”

Ok, it’s just Jackson. Stiles tuned back out.

Around the table, most of the others were listening intently. He could see Kira’s recorder on the desk, as she habitually did during meetings, and most of the others were chirping in and commenting on Jackson and Kira’s presentation.

…But now that Stiles thought about it, there was only one other person aside from himself who wasn’t as focused on the meeting.

At the head of the table was Lydia, leaning forward with her hands clasped on top of the table as she listened to what was going on. It wasn’t unusual for her to be silent during meetings, as she usually let everyone hash things out before commenting and giving her final decision. What was unusual was the distracted look in her eyes. It wasn’t noticeable to those who didn’t know her, but Stiles knew that look like the back of his own hand.

His thoughts immediately strayed towards the odd activity the ACU had been involved with in the past few days. At this point, it was something of an open secret around OMNE; something big was going on, but no one was making a peep on what it was.

Stiles was intent on watching Lydia, probably catch her eye and figure out what was really going on, when a beep from her phone sounded. It wasn’t loud enough to interrupt the others, save for Stiles who was already watching.

Lydia lifted a hand to her earpiece and talked to the person at the other end in hushed tones, enough that Stiles couldn’t get the gist of it. Suddenly an expression crossed Lydia’s face for a second, just a scant second that made something inside Stiles turn ice cold.

Fear.

 

 

 

 

It was time to get to work, Derek thought.

…or not?

“What do you mean we don’t have clearance to be here?!” Erica was shouting to the high heavens. “Our fieldwork was signed off by the Research Department, Coach Finstock, and Director Martin two weeks ago! We have the necessary paperwork and everything!” She looked like she was this close to tossing her earpiece into the forest.

Were it another day, it would be Derek arguing with home base about the details of their fieldwork, but right now he was too busy consoling Panpy.

“Okay, I’m sorry, but this is definitely not working.” Isaac sighed dejectedly as Panpy ducked behind Derek for the fourth time, mewling and grunting as she rubbed her crest against his back.

Derek turned around, tugging the baby’s head and pressing it against his chest, cooing softly to her.

They had been at the field for only half an hour when OMNE called them saying that approval for their fieldwork had been revoked by the Head Office, that the official discontinuation order had been sent out yesterday, and that technically their group was defying orders.

“It’s kind of timely though,” Isaac said, sighing and waving a hand at Panpy, “since it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to do anything today.”

Derek huffed and rubbed Panpy’s head soothingly.

They’d been trying to get her to perform basic exercises for a while now, but Panpy refused to cooperate. The most she did was amble off the rolling platform, but nothing could encourage her to do anything else or go anywhere else except behind Derek’s back.

“She’s scared,” Derek said, stroking along the baby’s neck. “Something’s scaring her.”

“We do have activity,” Harry, one of the rangers, said as he looked at the scanner. “Hostiles about twenty kilometers southwest; a pack of dinos it looks like.”

Derek frowned. “Twenty klicks is too close for my taste, especially when a pack could easily run this way.” Panpy butted her head against his chest, making him huff a little.

“Babies have good instinct,” Isaac said, arms crossed over his chest. “Maybe she’s on to something. Besides,” he winced when Erica threw her earpiece down on the ground and stomped towards them, “it’s pretty good timing considering OMNE wants us back to base.”

Derek motioned to Harry to grab Erica’s earpiece, then turned to her and her angry scowl. “What now?”

“HQ’s insisting we pack up and turn back, A-S-A-fucking-P.” Erica spat. “This is a total waste of our time and resources.”

“Did they say why?” Isaac asked.

“They’re not saying jack shit.” Erica crossed her arms over her chest. “I have half a mind to beat someone’s sorry ass to death for this.”

“Can we pick this up tomorrow?” Derek asked, stroking along Panpy’s chin to distract her.

Isaac nodded hesitantly. “Tomorrow afternoon or the day after is fine. I don’t mind. But this’ll definitely set us back from the schedule we drafted with–”

Faint, but still distinct squawks suddenly rippled through the air, sending Panpy crying. Derek yelped when he was bowled over, the baby curling up in his chest and shaking like a leaf.

“Shit,” Erica hissed, and they all watched as pterodactyls surged through the air and fly away from whatever it was that bothered them.

Derek noted that it was coming from the southwest. He sat up, gently pushing the baby away, and struggled to stand as she kept butting against him.

“Isaac, Erica, get Panpy back to OMNE,” Derek ordered. “Sedate her on the way if you have to, but get moving. Harry, back them up. Bill, you and I–”

“Nuh-uh! No way!” Isaac shouted, wide-eyed. “You can’t do that!”

“That’s right!” Erica marched right up to him. “I’m going with you, Hale!”

“Erica–”

“That’s not what I mean, Erica!” Isaac glared at them. “Guys, protocol dictates that we have to go back and report this. Not to mention the Head Office already canceled this field test. Once Lydia finds out–”

Derek and Erica ignored him.

Erica poked a finger at Derek’s chest painfully. “One, whatever that is might be the thing that’s giving ACU problems. If I can find out what it is, I can give them the right equipment to help them. And two, that’s probably why OMNE is pushing for us to go back to base. So yes, I am going with you, and no, there is nothing you can do about it.”

She turned to Isaac. “And Lydia can either fire me or she could suck it and stop being so damn cryptic about this whole shebang. Not knowing what’s going on has been getting on my damn nerves.”

“But… but…” Isaac floundered. Everybody knew that once Erica had her mind set on something, nothing would be able to stop her. He added meekly, “You don’t even have backup.”

“We’re each other’s back-up. That’s good enough,” Erica said. She turned back to Derek. “Now, are we going or not?”

“We’ll be fine, Isaac,” Derek reassured the man. “Get your stuff, Erica. Bill, make sure they get back safely.”

It took a lot of maneuvering and more time than Derek liked to get Panpy back on the truck. The poor thing was terrified of whatever it was out there, but thankfully she liked Isaac well enough and let herself ride at the back with him without trouble. Erica packed a few weapons, including the earpiece she had thrown away at first, and got behind Derek on his motorcycle.

“Come back as soon as you know what’s up,” Isaac said, his usually kind face looking stern and troubled. “I don’t want to have to be the one to explain to Stiles and Boyd what happened to you two.”

“We’ll call in once we figure out what’s up,” Derek said. “If worse comes to worst, we’ll contact Chris and the ACU.”

“Be careful,” Isaac called out as Derek and Erica rode off.

Fortunately, there was a path they could follow and in no time at all, Derek was parking the motorcycle a few hundred meters away from where the action seemed to be taking place.

Erica made a frustrated noise under her breath as they crept their way past the thick foliage. “We’re picking up a lot of heat. There are a lot of dinos.”

She showed Derek the screen of her tablet where it displayed the detected heat signatures of maybe five to ten dinosaurs. They couldn’t get a definite number and size though. One of the disadvantages of a resurrected ecosystem sixty million years old was that everything ran much too hot.

Derek’s brows furrowed deeply. He didn’t need fancy equipment to tell him that something was really wrong with this situation.

“It’s too quiet,” he said. He felt Erica tense beside him at the same realization.

Two or three dinosaurs would already be making a lot of noise the closer they got, and a pack would be a veritable cacophony of hisses, grunts, stomps and cries. However, after the initial uproar they heard, now there was none, save for the comparatively soft chirps of birds, clicking of beetles and squawks of aerial dinosaurs somewhere in the sky.

Derek took the lead, his rifle at the ready as he and Erica crept forward silently. Sweat was breaking out across his body as he tensed, ever vigilant and cautious at whatever might happen.

When they broke through the foliage, they found themselves on a cliff overlooking a river, the same one close to where they were earlier with Panpy. It cut and flowed through the forest ending up in what OMNE named the Vermek Lake about twenty or so kilometers away.

But it wasn’t the lake that had their attention, rather it was the number of dinosaurs littering the river and the riverbank, painting it red.

Dinosaurs and a number of their babies.

All dead.

There was a sound from behind them and both Derek and Erica whirled around, rifles raised.

 

 

 

 

After receiving that call, Lydia had immediately excused herself from the rest of the meeting, telling them to continue without her. Stiles wanted to protest, wanted to find out what was going on, but he seemed to be the only one who noticed Lydia’s distress as she walked briskly out of the room.

Something at the back of Stiles’ mind grew itchy as he thought about how to get out of the room and follow her, to find out just what was really going on, and why Lydia hadn’t raised the alarm.

That was when he felt the buzz in his pocket. He pulled out his phone.

**_From: D. Hale <3  
_ ** **_Message:_ ** _help_

Stiles was out the door before anybody could stop him.

On his way to Lydia’s office, Stiles probably called Derek’s number almost a dozen times, but it was no use. The calls kept getting cut off. By the time he barged into Lydia’s office, he was worried and frustrated in equal measures, completely ignoring the shouts of Lydia’s stuffy secretary Ian.

Before he could speak, he stopped short at the sight before him.

Inside, Lydia’s office was far from its usual pristine state, with papers, laptops, and tablets strewn across the tables. Lydia herself was also far from her usual prim and proper attire, looking increasingly troubled and stressed as she faced off against the others in her office: Allison and the projected forms of the Asset Containment Unit’s Commander Chris Argent and his second-in-command Jordan Parrish on the wall-sized screen in front of them.

Commander Chris Argent was in charge of OMNE’s primary security force, a formidable man that stood between the dinosaurs and them. He had a stern and strict aura, and people generally dived out of the way or turned down another hallway when they saw him coming. Under all that gruffness though, Chris was actually kind and funny, or so Stiles was told. He felt a pang in his heart as he thought about the fact that Chris and Derek were good friends, often spent time playing cards or drinking out by the trailers whenever they were both off duty.

His right-hand man was Lieutenant Commander Jordan Parrish. Where Chris cut an intimidating figure, Jordan was all smiles with a chivalrous demeanor that threw people off guard. He trained in the military, just like Chris, but his specialty was unknown to everyone but his superiors. Stiles was of the opinion he was from the black ops, which Jordan neither confirmed nor denied, though it was common knowledge that he was an expert marksman and tactician.

Even on screen, Stiles could see that both soldiers were covered in dust, dirt and… blood.

Lydia was wide-eyed. “Stiles–”

Stiles stomped towards her. He tossed his phone between them with Derek’s message clear across the screen.

When Allison saw the message, her face grew grim. She immediately turned to Jordan and her father.

“Commander,” she said urgently and talked to them in low whispers.

Stiles did not take his eyes off Lydia, who paled the moment she saw Derek’s cry for help. He felt angrier than he had ever felt before.

“What the fucking hell is going on?” he asked, voice pitched low and gaze unwavering.

Lydia knew when to pick her battles. She took a shuddering breath.

“What’s going on...”

“...is that we’re in the middle of a war.”

 

 

 

  

A dinosaur war, the concept in itself was not hard for Stiles to believe. Every day there were dinosaurs somewhere in the archipelago butting heads or digging claws.

But see…

Dinosaur vs. man – that was what landed their predecessors in hot water with Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.

Dinosaur vs. dinosaur – he could not believe that was what could bring OMNE down.

Stiles looked around at the other occupants in the room. Lydia was quiet at her desk, hands folded in front of her. Jackson and Kira had left their meeting at Lydia’s orders and joined them. Allison kept to the sidelines, quiet and unmoving. Isaac had arrived with Scott and Boyd in tow. The former had been concerned when Derek and Erica failed to come back to base, and the latter two had noticed their friends’ disappearance and joined Isaac’s search.

Stiles was standing to one side, arms crossed. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one not in the loop and Lydia wasn’t the only one keeping secrets around here.

“So let me get this straight,” Scott said. “One: Lydia, Jackson, Kira, the ACU and control center are the only ones who know what’s going on. Two: Stiles, Boyd, Isaac and I are the only one who don’t. Three: Derek and Erica are missing. And four, we have a dinosaur territory war going on.”

“That about sums it up,” Allison said, wincing.

“You both lied to me,” Stiles said, glaring at Kira and Jackson. The former had the decency to look apologetic, but the latter didn’t. “You both said that you didn’t know what was happening.”

“They had their orders.”

Lydia looked Stiles in the eye, just as angry, but also with an air of resignation and defeat. Out of everyone in this room, he and Lydia were the ones who fought the most when it came to OMNE and taking care of the islands. They had had epic fights over the years, some of them ugly and petty, but all of them were for their shared quest to ensure OMNE and the dinosaurs’ safety.

Stiles had a feeling what was happening now was going into the record books. He was so sure he could almost taste it.

Lydia straightened her shoulders, gathering strength before she spoke.

“Three months ago, the Designated Patrol Unit sent a distress signal to the control center from the far southwest end of the island – dinosaurs going on a killing spree, that was what they reported. The Asset Containment Unit was dispersed immediately, but by the time they got there, the action was over. There were no casualties from our end. However, there was a reported casualty of four dinosaurs.”

“Which ones?” Isaac asked, looking ashen at the thought. As their resident veterinarian, he knew almost every single dinosaur in the Muertes Archipelago.

Kira was the one to reply. “The [Iguanodon](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Iguanodon) pack at Section 97-H, the one Rudy came from.”

Stiles couldn’t help the horror that struck him, both for him and Derek.

Rudy was one of the few fully mature dinosaurs OMNE had worked with. He became a behavioral research case two years ago regarding the paternal behavior of dinosaurs. It required a lot of fieldwork and observation, which was why Derek had been out on the field practically five days a week to accompany the main team. (Stiles had missed him terribly, not that he told anyone, even though Scott said it was obvious to everyone, even the man in question.)

Iguanodons were herbivores and were incredibly peaceful creatures. Rudy himself was a gentle giant, the Alpha of their herd, and protector of the herd’s many young. After his initial aggression when he accidentally stumbled upon the humans hiding in the bushes, he became quite accustomed, even accepting, of the strange tiny creatures that loved to watch him. This in turn endeared him to the researchers and rangers, especially Derek who had spent hours on end getting Rudy used to his presence.

“Rudy is fine now,” Kira reassured them, before making a face. “He was not without injuries after fighting off the attackers. Thanks to him, the whole pack wasn’t decimated.”

“And just what were these _attackers_?” Scott asked.

The extra large computer screen mounted on the wall suddenly flared to life, surprising everyone. Stiles looked around and noticed Lydia at her desk and commandeering her computer.

“I think some things are better seen live than through story-telling,” she said simply.

Onscreen they could see Lydia access a video file on her desktop. She seemed to pause for a moment before she turned off the volume and played the video without preamble.

It was horrifying.

Oh, it started out fine, showing a few minutes of Rudy leading his herd as they walked through the forest. Aside from the fact that the timer at the bottom jumped between minutes, it was obvious that the videos had been edited. The video jumped from one camera to another, and they all watched as Rudy and his herd settled into an area of the forest, engaged in their midday meal.

The next thing they knew, the Iguanodons started panicking. In the middle of it all was Rudy, snarling at something hidden amongst the trees while simultaneously looking back, obviously signaling for his herd to run, and run _fast_.

Stiles could only watch, horror filling his veins, when not one, not two, but an entire pack of [Giganotosauruses](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Giganotosaurus) broke through the foliage and attacked the herd.

“Oh, god. No,” Isaac whispered.

“Holy shit,” Scott muttered.

It was a near-massacre. The Giganotosaurus, six of them as far as Stiles could see, attacked Rudy and his herd, even the children. It was a small reprieve that the audio was turned off, but gasps and exclamations of shock reverberated throughout the room. They watched a Giganotosaurus seize a baby by its neck and toss it to the side, while another ripped the throat out of a dinosaur trying to run away, and two others charged Rudy from each side, trying to make the Alpha fall to his knees.

But Rudy was stronger. He roared and fought and tried to take out as many of the enemies as he could, until the pack beat a hasty retreat. With all the blood and dead bodies around, it didn’t seem like a victory anyway.

Eventually, the screen turned to black.

Lydia’s voice was soft. “After this incident, the Giganotosaurus Pack – thereupon referred to as Pack X – remained quiet for almost three weeks. The situation was dangerous and therefore the case was placed under the jurisdiction of the Asset Containment Unit, but at the time, we attributed the incident to a display of aggression and dominance. We’ve certainly seen a fair few of those.”

“However, after three weeks, the incident occurred again, this time with Pack X attacking a [Baryonyx](http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Baryonyx) pack. Pack X was unsuccessful, mostly because the Baryonyx, being both dinosaur and fish eaters, were able to retreat into deeper waters.”

“Giganotosauruses are land dinosaurs. They hate the water,” Kira explained.

“So now we have a rampaging pack on our hands,” Boyd spoke up, voice soft but words heavy and biting, “A pack that is wreaking havoc while two of our own are out there, missing and unaware of just what is going on.”

Stiles’ hands balled into fists. _Derek._

“What happened out there?” Scott asked. “Isaac said he left Erica and Derek out there on the field because of some commotion.”

Stiles could still remember Derek’s text message that morning, could still hear his voice as they talked excitedly just yesterday about what he and Erica had planned for Panpy.

Lydia was quiet and she didn’t seem like she was going to speak so Allison took over.

“Pack X attacked another pack earlier, close to the location approved for Panpy’s field work. Since the team was approved for field work weeks ago, I’m afraid this one accidentally bypassed Head Office when we gave out orders to cancel all activity outside of base.”

Stiles mentally charted the location for Panpy’s field evaluation and his eyes widened in realization.

“Which pack was attacked?” he asked. “Which one?!”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Boyd straighten, wide-eyed as the same thought came to him.

The others were surprised at Stiles’ loud voice, but Lydia wasn’t. She looked pained.

“The Guanlong Pack at Section 42-J,” Lydia said. “Archie and Mitchie’s pack.”

Stiles closed his eyes, his fingers balling into fists as he leaned heavily against the table.

Archie and Mitchie, out of all the dinosaurs Stiles had ever worked with, out of all the dinosaurs _Derek_ had ever worked with – those two were special to them. They were his and Derek’s dinosaurs, observed, studied and accompanied over the past four years.

“What happened to Archie and Mitchie’s pack?” Stiles asked, trying to level his breathing. “What are the casualties?”

“Three dead,” Lydia said. “And a fair few of their pack had been injured.”

The room was silent. They all knew how much Archie and Mitchie meant to Stiles and Derek, including their entire pack. Because what use were their research and their petitions to bring dinosaurs into OMNE for observation if these dinosaurs did not have a home or a pack to go back to?

“Three months.”

They all turned to Boyd.

“You said that Pack X’s first attack was three months ago,” he said. “This has been going on for three months and you didn’t think to do anything about it?”

“We couldn’t,” Allison said. “We have a no-kill policy–”

“So what? You’re gonna let those dinosaurs kill each other?” Isaac asked, outraged. “That is insane!”

Suddenly, it was as if things were clearer than ever in Stiles’ head. He looked at everything in a new light.

“Research,” he said. “This is your research. That’s why Kira and Jackson know about this when the rest of us don’t. The head of the genetics department and your head legal counsel – this incident is being treated as a research instead of an emergency.”

Scott made a face. “You let this dinosaur war go on for your _research_?”

“The entire island, us and the dinosaurs, are in danger, and you didn’t see cause to raise the alarm all for your research?” Boyd asked. The man was rarely angry and now his voice boomed loudly throughout the room.

When before Lydia looked guilty, she was different now. Their Director looked firm and every bit the unstoppable force that had built OMNE from the ground up.

“I hope it hasn’t escaped your memory that these dinosaurs existed millions of years before we did,” she said, voice diplomatic. “This is the only recorded proof we have so far that dinosaurs could engage in this type of behavior, that they are smart enough to instigate ongoing coordinated attacks against other dinosaurs in an effort to overpower them or possibly even wipe them out. These dinosaurs are deliberately seeking out, attacking and killing other packs.”

“We can only guess their motives in instigating a war or how long this will last, but no matter their reasons, our policy here at OMNE has always been to interfere as little as possible in the natural order of things. This instance included.”

“I plan on monitoring everything that is happening until it is no longer necessary.”

“Necessary?” Scott asked, wide-eyed in disbelief. “Then, you won’t be satisfied until even more dinosaurs are killed?”

“We will not let them decimate other species, nor will we let them get close to the center. We will intervene if that was the case, but not before,” Kira added softly.

“How could you?” Isaac asked, looking at Lydia as if he did not even recognize the woman in front of him.

Lydia’s face grew hard. “We are more than just the caretakers of these islands and these dinosaurs. We are also scientists. Do not seek to humanize or anthropomorphize these creatures. They are dinosaurs and they are animals.” She looked around at everyone. “This is research. This is what OMNE is for.”

“And Derek?” Stiles spoke up softly. “Where do Derek and Erica fit into your grand plan? When they’re out there in danger and don’t know what the hell is going on?”

Lydia looked at him, strict and almost uncaring. “The ACU has their orders to bring Derek and Erica back. They won’t fail.”

There was nothing else to say and Stiles immediately turned on his heels and walked out of the room.

 

 

 

 

“How sure are you that he’s going to be of any help?” Isaac asked, and it was such a silly question that Stiles couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“This is unbelievable!” Scott said, pacing the length of the hallway. “I can’t believe they’d do this! I can’t believe Allison will go along with Lydia’s plan! This is not like her!”

“He could get in trouble for this,” Isaac protested, prodding Stiles. “Once Allison and Lydia find out that he’s going behind their backs–”

“He’s not going behind their backs and he will help us,” Stiles said, glaring at the elevator door across the wall from where he was leaning.

Isaac shot Boyd a confused look, but the man simply shrugged. In the background, Scott kept ranting about Allison, unable to believe what his girlfriend had done.

Stiles looked at his phone and stroked the screen repeatedly. Every time he tried to call, he got disconnected. Now he would give anything for his phone to ring with a message or a call from Derek. Anything.

“We can’t get a hold of them,” Boyd said from beside Stiles. He had his earpiece on, probably just as anxious to get a call from Erica.

“How?” Stiles muttered. “How can we not get a hold of them? We’ve all been out on fieldwork a hundred times and we’ve never lost communication once.”

He pocketed his phone and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. He tried to will away the haunting images popping up in his head.

Isaac tried to appeal to Stiles again. “Stiles, I’m just as pissed with Lydia as you, but I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t want to drag Danny into this.”

The elevator beeped and they all watched as the elevator doors opened and Danny stepped out, tablet computer in one hand and stylus in the other as he read and walked at the same time. The man stopped and looked up when Stiles cleared his throat loudly.

“Stiles, Isaac, guys, what are you–”

“Show me what happened,” Stiles said, cutting to the chase. “I need to know, so show me what happened to Archie and Mitchie’s pack.”

Danny was silent for a moment, hesitant.

Stiles felt his body tense even more. “Danny, if anything happens to Derek…”

Danny sighed. He slid the stylus inside the tablet and motioned to the door. “Fine.”

Isaac looked shocked as he watched Danny swipe his ID across the panel and led them inside his private office.

“Danny‘s our best computer engineer. He built OMNE’s whole damn system,” Stiles explained as they all filed inside the room. “So if Lydia was going to keep tabs on what Pack X was up to, you can damn well be sure she’d rope Danny into it.”

“She’s my boss, Stilinski, and I got my orders,” Danny said, sitting at his desk, which contained two keyboards, another tablet, and a lot of USBs and discs. Across the desk was a screen that spanned the entire wall.

“Orders? You mean… you’re in on this?”

Isaac looked so disappointed and heartbroken that Stiles couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Isaac and Danny had been doing this will-they-won’t-they-but-we’re-all-sure-they-will-get-together-eventually dance for so long that Stiles couldn’t help but feel saddened about how this would affect their budding relationship. Isaac was a bleeding heart and sensitive soul that loved dinosaurs and Danny was a genius technophile that could occasionally be brazen and cold.

Danny ducked his head, looking guilty. “This is research. What’s more, it’s Lydia’s research. I couldn’t say no.”

“You could.” Isaac’s voice was tiny. “You could have said no.”

Isaac stepped to the side, farthest away from Danny. He crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to curl in on himself. Scott moved to stand beside their friend, glaring at Danny in solidarity.

Silence fell and while Stiles was worried, he cut in, getting straight to business.

“I need you to show me what happened to Archie and Mitchie’s pack,” Stiles repeated his earlier request. “Show me what happened when they were attacked.”

“Which one,” Danny asked.

Everyone paused.

“Aww, fucking hell,” Danny ran his hand through his hair. “She didn’t tell you about that, did she?”

“Archie and Mitchie’s pack were attacked _twice_?” Stiles all but shouted.

Instead of answering, Danny started typing. Onscreen they could see him unlock one security firewall after another before he could access the control center’s files. Everyone at OMNE knew that cameras were mounted all over the Muertes Archipelago, but even Stiles didn’t know just how many were there or where they were located.

However, before they could get a clue just what were the kinds of files Danny and the control center had hidden away, Danny was already opening a folder, which contained two more folders inside – one folder dated today and the other a week ago.

“A week?” Boyd asked. “They were attacked by Pack X twice in the span of a week?”

“How did the Pack even survive that?” Scott asked, shocked.

Danny’s fingers hovered over his mouse, but he relented and clicked the video taken a week ago.

Silence descended as they all watched the video play on. Unlike Lydia, Danny kept the volume on and Stiles was torn between listening and asking Danny to turn it off.

What happened with the Guanlong pack was almost identical to what Rudy and his pack went through. Stiles watched in horror as the Gigantosaurus pack brutally mowed them all down, attacking every single dinosaur with a bloodthirstiness that scared even Stiles. It was evident that the Guanlong pack had been caught by surprise and Stiles was brought to near-tears when he watched the pack’s alpha, Kaya, get ripped in two by a pair of Gigantosauruses. The sounds added to the visceral experience as they heard cries of pain mixed with roars and snarls of victory.

The others didn’t fare any better. Halfway through, Scott had to look away, hand over his mouth to stop himself from retching, while Boyd had a pained look on his face with his large hands curled into heavy fists.

Isaac had his hands clamped over his ears and eventually exclaimed, “Turn the volume down! Turn it the fuck down! I want it off! I can’t listen to this anymore!”

Danny lowered the audio, but a motion of Stiles’ hand made sure he didn’t turn it off completely. The sights hurt Stiles almost like a physical wound, but he kept on watching. He would not look away, not from _this_.

Eventually, the video ended. It was no more than eight minutes, but it felt like far longer than that.

“They were ambushed,” Boyd said. “And even worse, Pack X was obviously attacking the older dinosaurs.”

“I noticed that too,” Stiles said, swallowing hard so as not to throw up.

“And they killed Kaya,” Isaac whispered, “Which means the Pack has no Alpha.”

“Casualties?” Stiles asked.

“Five adults and two young dinosaurs, not to mention that the ACU later found out they trampled on two nests just a kilometer or so away,” Danny said. He tapped his fingers against the table. “The Guanlong pack is the only one Pack X has attacked more than once and, based on ACU’s report, Pack X had been walking along the Guanlongs’ territory the week prior to the first attack, as if observing them.”

Scott frowned deeply. “With a week apart between attacks? I’d bet a hundred dollars they’re still casing the pack right now.”

“If this really is a territory war, Pack X got it right,” Boyd said, thinking hard. “The Guanlongs have a sizable territory, stretching from the banks of the river all the way to half the southern forest.”

“It’s even bigger than that,” Danny said. He brought up a map of the islands and a certain portion lit up, bigger than the areas Boyd had referred to. “Pack and herd territories change almost daily with the way dinosaurs compete for land and food, but the Guanlongs were near thirty strong before Pack X attacked. They had taken up a larger territory than before.”

“And that’s what Pack X wants.” Stiles leaned forward. “You can see it in the first video. They let other members of the pack go. They knew they won. They killed the pack’s Alpha, and any pack hell bent on dominating others would know to strike while the pack was weak.”

“That’s the same thing Lydia, Kira, and the ACU thought,” Danny said. He brought up the second video. “I just finished cutting this for Lydia before I came down here. This is most likely what Derek and Erica saw out on the field.”

Danny did them the courtesy of turning the volume off fully this time before the video began. It was shorter than the first film, but no less brutal.

Stiles was right. It seemed that Pack X knew they had nearly won the Guanlongs over. With the deaths of the adults, only a handful were around to defend their territory. Pack X attacked them just as ruthlessly as before, but they did not seem to spend as much time on them. At one point, both parties were just roaring and snarling at one another.

“Scare tactics,” Isaac said, “probably to get the Guanlongs to give up their territory.”

“Which means that if Pack X attacks the Guanlongs one more time...” Stiles looked around. “They’ll  annihilate the entire pack.”


	3. Chapter Three

   


“Derek.”

Derek looked up from the lunch he’d been given but couldn’t bring himself to eat, gaze settling on Jordan. The man was dressed in his ACU uniform: cap, khaki button-up shirt, a gray unbuttoned coat, black pants and brown boots.

“What is it?” he asked.

“We’ve made contact with control center,” the man said. “You guys can–”

Before Jordan was even done, Derek was already bustling past him and heading for Erica, who was talking to one of the men. The ACU needed a tune-up on some of their service vehicles and while Erica had adamantly refused to help any of them, that didn’t mean she wasn’t giving some of the men a bit of advice.

“Erica,” Derek called out, grabbing her attention. “Comms are up.”

Erica immediately stood up, brushing off the man she had been talking to, and followed Derek as they all but ran to Chris’s office. Derek vaguely registered Jordan hustling after them, but he paid the man no mind.

After they encountered some of the dead and injured Guanlongs, Derek and Erica found themselves in the custody of the ACU, who had been patrolling the area. Jordan and his men took them to one of OMNE’s watchtowers where the ACU had made camp and the two had been there for two days now. It took a while to get all the information out of Chris, and needless to say, he and Erica had been pissed at what the ACU and Lydia had been doing behind the scenes.

(And friend or not, Derek would have punched Chris in the face had it not been for the fact that the man was carrying a gun and had an entire group of soldiers at his back.)

What pissed off the two even more was that Chris and Jordan confiscated their phones, earpieces, weapons and Derek’s motorcycle. Apparently, Lydia had given them explicit instructions not to contact or go back to OMNE until control center contacted them first. Why, none of them knew, not that Derek thought Chris would ever tell them Lydia’s plans.

They barged into Chris’s office without bothering to knock and walked in on Chris talking to someone on the screens, Allison on the left screen and Lydia on the right.

 _“–in your hands, Commander,”_ Lydia was saying.

 _“It won’t be easy though,”_ Allison added. _“We don’t want to risk putting a target on our backs.”_

“True,” Chris replied. “But I’m confident our plan will go off without a hitch.”

Conversation immediately paused as they all walked in.

“Sorry, Commander,” Jordan said, bringing up the rear.

“Phones and earpieces,” Derek simply said to Chris, ignoring the women onscreen. He had nothing to say to them.

Erica must have felt the same because she said nothing as Chris motioned to his desk, just immediately grabbed their gadgets before heading back out the door.

_“Derek, Erica.”_

They paused at Lydia’s voice and turned to her. Whether they disagree with her or not, Lydia was still OMNE’s Director and their boss; when she called, they answered.

Onscreen Lydia did not look the least bit worried or contrite. She had always had a good poker face.

 _“You two will remain at the watchtower with the ACU and the Commander until further notice,”_ she said.

“What?” Erica gaped. “Why? We’ve been here for two days now!”

 _“I expect you both to assist them with whatever issues they’re having,”_ Lydia said. _“They won’t have time to go back and forth between OMNE and the watchtower, so I expect my head trainer and my materials engineer to assist ACU in their mission.”_

Derek and Erica were quiet, neither acquiescing nor disagreeing.

 _“Do I make myself clear?”_ Lydia asked sternly.

“Crystal,” Erica said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and walking out the door.

“Of course, Director. You know best after all,” Derek said sardonically, and walked out the door before he could get lectured.

Derek headed straight to his and Erica’s assigned room, a small space with a simple bunk bed, two desks, and two chairs. Aside from that, it was completely bare. However, compared to the rest of the soldiers who were bunking in groups or camping out in the forest, this was already luxurious.

Derek immediately pressed two on his speed dial and waited anxiously as Stiles’ name appeared and the phone started to ring.

“Come on, Stiles. Come on.”

_Click._

_“Derek?”_

“Stiles,” Derek just about gasped in relief. “Stiles, it’s me.”

 _“Fuck! It’s been– Where are– Video chat! Video! I need to see you.”_ Stiles demanded.

Derek removed the phone from his ear and pressed the video icon. Stiles’ face immediately popped up on his screen.

“Stiles, fuck. You’re there.” Derek held the phone between his hands. “Are you okay?”

Stiles looked worse for wear. His hair was a mess and his shirt was rumpled, and Derek wasn’t sure if it was because the man had been sleeping on his clothes or not sleeping at all. However, once Stiles saw Derek’s face, his entire countenance seemed to relax in one fell swoop.

 _“I’m hanging in there,”_ Stiles said. _“How about you? Where are you?”_ He paused and looked at something over his shoulder before looking back. _“And it looks like you and Erica finally made contact. Boyd says hi.”_

“Sorry about that, but we had no choice,” Derek said, sighing. “Erica and I are with the ACU at Watchtower 8. They’re under orders not to let us leave and we’re under orders not to even try.”

Stiles frowned. _“Lydia?”_

Derek nodded.

Stiles sighed, running his hands through his hair. _“Did Chris and Jordan tell you guys anything? About– about Archie and Mitchie’s pack?”_

Stiles looked so heartbroken that Derek almost reached out to rub his cheek, remembering at the last minute that Stiles was far away and not in front of him.

“It took a while, but Chris eventually told us what was going on.” Derek rubbed his face. “After Lydia put all contact on hold, they didn’t know if you guys knew the truth yet so they kept us here for the past two days.”

Stiles looked so hopeful that Derek loathed taking it away.

“...but we just received orders to stay here until further notice and help the ACU.”

Stiles looked shocked, then angry, then resigned, all in a span of a few seconds. He sighed deeply and mussed up his hair vigorously, shaking the phone and making Derek lose sight of him for a few moments.

 _“I don’t know what the fuck is going on. I don’t know what to do,”_ Stiles said, almost defeated. He looked at Derek through the camera phone. _“I wish you were here. I wish you were with me.”_

Something inside Derek ached when he heard those words. It felt good to hear that and it pained him to think of Stiles alone, but at least he was back at HQ and safe. It was a bittersweet feeling.

“I miss you too,” Derek said softly. “I wish I was there right now with you.”

They lapsed into silence for a moment, just looking at one another. Derek cradled his phone between his hands, wishing more than ever that he could hold Stiles’ hand, wrap him in his arms, or cup his face and _finally_ kiss him.

_“You know they’re right though?”_

Derek looked at him. “Hm?”

 _“They’re right,”_ Stiles repeated. _“This is all about the research.”_ He sighed deeply and rubbed his temples. _“OMNE is a research center. It is our job, my job, to observe their behavior. I am a scientist, a researcher. This is my life’s work, Derek.”_

When Derek had first heard the truth about the behavior of the Giganotosaurus Pack, he had been worried about how Stiles would take the news.

Derek had never bothered to hide how often he disagreed with the center’s scientists and researchers. He admired their intellect, yes, but as the person who worked closely together with all the dinosaurs, he had become more empathetic towards them than some of the center’s cold and logic-driven scientists.

Stiles was one of them, in a way. He was a researcher, a scientist, and an analyst. Understanding these dinosaurs was his job and his passion, and even this so-called war was undoubtedly something he would have wanted to observe, study, and understand at length. In fact, Derek was sure that if things had turned out differently, Stiles might have supported Lydia’s stance on this dinosaur war. However, underneath Stiles’ sarcasm and cutthroat logic was a deep and genuine love for dinosaurs; and all of this was tearing Stiles apart.

“Stiles, listen to me,” Derek said. He waited until he had the other man’s undivided attention. “We are dealing with predators and their survival instincts. The very idea of a dinosaur territory war is interesting, you know that, and even I can admit that. I know you would have wanted to support this study.”

“But ever since we made camp here at OMNE, we have never deliberately hurt nor purposely let these dinosaurs get hurt. What use are we, what is our purpose here, if not to protect these dinosaurs, even from themselves?” He gave the other man what he hoped was a reassuring look.

“Enough dinosaurs had been hurt and used from what Jurassic Park and Jurassic World did. We can’t make the same mistake and let this go on.”

Stiles was quiet, but he looked at Derek with a serious and somewhat fond look.

_“You make everything better.”_

Derek was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Stiles leaned closer to the phone. _“You do. You... not seeing you or talking to you for the past two days just about killed me. You make everything better.”_

Derek’s heart beat loudly in his chest and he resisted the urge to rub his face and hide his reddening cheeks and ears. But this was Stiles and Derek would always listen to whatever he said.

 _“I don’t...”_ Stiles rubbed his face, looking a bit embarrassed, but determined to say what he felt. _“When I go out on the field, I always remember the things you say about the dinosaurs, the things you notice when you’re working with them – like how they eat other than just what they eat, how they carry their body not just how they walk, what they’re trying to communicate and not just what they’re doing. And it… it makes me love my job even more.”_

“Well, you help me appreciate the science behind it,” Derek said gruffly. “You know I’m not one for all that technical stuff, but it makes me better at what I do.”

 _“We’re a perfect match,”_ Stiles teased, looking calmer than before, and much more like his old self.

“We are. You know we are.” Derek grinned. “I can’t wait to see you.”

 _“Me too.”_ Stiles’ teasing smile turned devious, a confident gleam appearing in his eyes. _“We just have to hold out until we have our chance and fix this whole mess.”_

Since this whole thing began, Derek had felt lost and unsure about how to proceed or what to do. But with Stiles. _With Stiles._ Derek felt confident following his lead.

“What do you want me to do?”

 

 

 

 

Stiles rubbed his hands together and looked up. It was still dark out and incredibly early, with only a few stars left, and still no pinks and yellows of the coming sunrise. They had spent the better part of three days making plans and Stiles had spent all of that time incredibly anxious and nervous.

“Stiles, Isaac’s almost done and Boyd and the others are all set,” Scott said, jogging up to him. “We’re right on track so far.”

“Good,” Stiles said. “We have an hour before the pterodactyl ca-caws everybody awake, so chop-chop and let’s get going.”

Stiles straightened his green army coat and brushed off the dust on his brown cargo pants. Taking a deep breath, he stretched his arms in the air to get the kinks out. He had been going through their plan nonstop for the past few days and while it was relatively easy enough, a lot was riding on this, namely all of their careers.

He followed Scott as they silently made their way around the dinosaur pens. They paused by the baby pens and Stiles slowed down to peek through the bars. Panpy was in her pen, curled up and dozing, making little snuffling and snoring sounds.

The poor baby was long overdue to continue her training. Isaac had taken over, but it was not the same and Derek and Erica had expressed their worries and frustration over phone and video chat about this whole debacle setting Panpy’s progress back.

“Don’t worry, baby. Derek will be here soon,” he whispered, and jogged off.

Archie and Mitchie’s pen at the far end was ominously quiet as they neared, but Stiles wasn’t buying it one bit. Even if he hadn’t memorized the dinosaurs’ habits, he knew that Guanlongs were partially nocturnal creatures and were active both by day and night. He had a feeling they were somewhere in there, hidden amongst the foliage, and watching them.

Boyd, Isaac, two other rangers, and two engineers, all of whom were good friends of Derek and Erica, were already in motion. They were told as minimal details as possible and had been informed of the risk if Lydia ever discovered their involvement, yet they volunteered all the same and for that, Stiles was grateful.

Isaac was cradling a tranquilizer gun and studying the case of darts Boyd was holding in front of him. He was dressed similarly to Stiles and had heat-sensing goggles on top of his head. He had to be absolutely sure about the dosage or risk either letting them sleep for too long or waking the dinosaurs up before they were ready.

“All set?” Scott asked.

“I’m ready,” Isaac said. He grabbed two of the darts. He might look like a nice guy, but the man was actually a hell of a sharpshooter and he rarely allowed anybody else to tranq the dinosaurs. “Get the crane and trucks ready so that we can move them as soon as–”

“HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE?!”

They all jumped up in surprise.

“Fuck no.” Stiles cursed under his breath.

Finstock came barreling in from around the corner. His brown jacket and boots were flung haphazardly over his striped pajamas and his hair was in complete disarray.

“What the hell is going on here?” The man demanded, looking around at everyone, red-faced and mad as all hell. He whirled around, turning in circles before coming to a stop. His eyes landed on Stiles immediately.

“BILINSKI! I should have known! This reeks of your mischief! What are you doing?” His gaze caught on the tranq gun in Isaac’s hands. “Is that a– And you’re bringing Lahey down with you, eh? You too Boyd? McCall?”

Stiles winced and looked around. If more people came, they’re doomed.

“Are you authorized to take those dinosaurs out of base? I was not informed of this! I’m telling the Director!” Finstrock stomped his foot petulantly.

“Coach, I was approved for more fieldwork just a few weeks ago! This is all totally legit!” Stiles fumbled. “I filed the paperwork and everything.”

Coach narrowed his eyes at him, disbelieving. “No. Nuh-uh. I don’t trust you, Bilinski. Hale’s been gone for a while. Reyes too. They haven’t been looking after Panpy over there. So no, I’m not letting you out of here. I’m calling the head–”

Somebody spoke from behind them. “Hey, hey, hey. What’s all the commotion? No need to turn on all the alarms, Coach. We’ve got our orders.”

“Orders? Don’t you lie to me, Mahealani.” Coach squinted at the man as he approached.

Danny was dressed in brown shorts, boots and his usual lab coat over a brown polo shirt. He looked relaxed as he sauntered over to their group, stopping just between Finstock and Stiles.

“Why would I lie?” Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes. “The Director wants these dinosaurs out of base asap.”

“…And Bilinski? He said he was on fieldwork,” Finstock said.

“Yup. I got his authorization right here. His additional fieldwork hours were green-lighted. The Director signed it and dated it.” Danny pulled out his phone and pulled up an authorization dated just a few weeks ago stating Stiles’ extra fieldwork hours were approved.

Finstock looked around at all of them, confused and suspicious. While he was disinclined to believe Stiles, he knew better than to disregard Danny, who was pretty much one of the head honchos that run the entire base.

“…Fine then,” he spat out and turned on his heels. “They’re your responsibility, Mahealani! And they better damn well return my best trainer and my engineer!”

The man stomped off, angry and probably sleepy. The moment he disappeared from view, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Glad to hear you changed your mind,” Boyd said gruffly.

“Yeah, well,” Danny shrugged, “Our job at OMNE is to study dinosaurs. I figure that if these dinosaurs end up killing one another, we’d end up having no job, and I like it here.” He turned to Isaac, eyes on him. “Besides, a certain someone was right. I could’ve said no in the first place.”

Isaac seemed pleased and he flushed lightly, swaying on his feet. “Softie.”

Stiles grinned, clapping the man on the back. “Thanks, man. It’ll help to have eyes from the inside.”

“You should have thought of that before putting together this crazy plan. I mean, sneaking Archie and Mitchie out of the base and then releasing them so that they could help defend their pack?” Danny scoffed. “You bet your asses you need me.”

“So let’s do this then.” Scott grinned, bouncing on his feet.

“Boyd, get the trucks ready,” Stiles said. “Isaac, it’s your time to shine, man.”

Isaac grinned. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and spun the tranq dart between his fingers. If Stiles didn’t know any better, he’d say Danny almost swooned at the sight.

The blond grinned. “Leave it to me.”

 

 

 

 

“For the last time, Erica, they’re not going to shoot us.” Derek sighed in irritation. “At most, Chris will just report us to Lydia and then we’ll get fired.”

“That’s not at all reassuring, jerk.” Erica kicked Derek in the shin, _hard_. “I love my job.”

“So do I,” Derek gritted out between pained hisses. “But if this is the direction OMNE’s suddenly going to take, I’m not going to stick around for this.”

“Lydia probably hit her head on something,” Erica muttered. “Or AMBER got to her somehow. This isn’t like her.”

And wasn’t that one of the hardest parts of this whole mess?

Unlike the other department heads and major players of OMNE, Derek was not invited by Lydia Martin to become a part of the center. Instead, Derek had sought her out and offered his services to her. He had been working as a wildlife rehabilitator since he was in college, nursing various injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals. He was furious when InGen’s transgressions became public knowledge and it made him incredibly wary of the coldness of unforgiving, scientific minds.

Lydia Martin, however, afforded him some hope. She had made headlines when she became OMNE’s Director and while most people would take her words as political posturing, Derek felt differently.

 

_“We need to keep moving forward and do what we can, what we must, for these creatures. We must respect them and learn how to coexist with them against the sixty-five million years of evolution separating us.”_

 

Those were her words, the ones that convinced Derek that he wanted to, needed to, work with her and OMNE.

Derek ran his hands through his hair. Disappointment was a bitter taste in his mouth.

“We all believed in her, but it doesn’t matter now anyway,” he said, grabbing some of the communicators that Chris confiscated. “She might be our Director, but she’s not the only one who cares about OMNE or the dinosaurs. If she’s going to stick to her researches and books like AMBER wants, then that’s on her. We know these dinosaurs, this place, better than she does.”

Erica looked at him, a bit shocked but also with a dawning comprehension. She smirked and nodded.

“You’re right. Running this place isn’t only up to her.” She grabbed her gun and cocked it. “OMNE is all of us.”

Derek grinned. “Let’s go.”

They both walked out of Chris’ office on silent feet. It was hard enough breaking into the room. They couldn’t risk getting caught now.

Derek winced when a door opened across the hall and Jordan stepped out. He took one look at them, decked out in army coats, trousers, and boots.

“Jordan.”

“Derek. Erica.”

There was silence and Derek glanced down at Parrish’s hand, wary on whether or not that man would radio backup and Chris or possibly even shoot them.

Instead, Jordan raised his hands in the air with a sigh. “This whole thing is fucked up, honestly. If you have a better plan than us sitting back and watching dinosaurs die, then I’m all for it. I’ve already seen my fair share of deaths back on my old army tours as it is.”

“We’re bailing Archie and Mitchie out so they can protect their pack and we’re going to drive Pack X out of the Guanlongs’ territory,” Erica said.

Jordan winced. “Suicidal. Then again, we work on a dinosaur island. Who am I to judge?” He reached into his pocket then and tossed something at Derek and another at Erica.

Derek looked at the keys in his hand and the keycard in Erica’s.

“Your motorcycle is at Garage 8. Take it, but don’t touch my Jeep,” Jordan said, turning on his heels. “Your weapons are at the cache at the back. Take the path behind the watchtower where they keep the jeeps. Don’t worry about driving through. The fences are down because we were just about to deploy another team.”

Erica and Derek watched as Jordan reentered his room and shut it tight behind him. They glanced at one another and wordlessly hurried down the hall.

Jordan’s words were true, and soon enough Erica had their bag of weapons slung across her back and Derek had reacquired his beloved motorcycle. He stroked the triskelion painted on it.

“Don’t shoot anyone,” Derek warned as Erica’s hand hovered over the panel beside the garage doors.

“I’m not going to shoot anybody.” She paused. “Except maybe Chris or Lydia.”

Derek didn’t argue with that. He revved the engine. “Do it.”

Erica swiped the keycard across the panel and hurried behind Derek. The doors slowly started lifting and the moment it was high enough, Derek set the motorcycle into motion and drove clean out of the gate. They startled a few ACU soldiers milling about, most of them still sleepy from the very early morning.

“What the hell?!”

“Alert the captain! They’re driving out of base!”

“Sound the alarm!”

“They’re one of us! We can’t just shoot them!”

“Move your asses out of our way!” Erica shouted, firing some warning shots in the air. “Let us through!”

Derek followed Jordan’s instructions and directed his motorcycle towards the back of the watchtower. It was easy enough to weave in between the parked jeeps, which also made it difficult for any of the soldiers to follow them.

“Electrified fences,” Erica said in Derek’s ear, pointing at the set of looming fences they were driving towards.

Similar to the trio of gates that guarded the dinosaur pens, the watchtowers and various safe places around the Muertes Archipelago each boasted two sets of towering electrified fences to keep dinosaurs and other intruders out.

“Let’s hope Jordan is right and the electricity isn’t turned on,” Derek said as the motorcycle skidded to a stop in front of the gates. Erica reached over and swiped the keycard against the panel.

They heard the sound of whirring machines and Erica let out a whoop when the fences slowly started parting. The loud sound of a beeping horn cut through their celebration and Erica yelped when they saw other motorcycles headed their way.

“Go! Go!” she hissed.

Derek gunned the engine and drove out past the fence as soon as they could fit. They drove straight into the forest.

Behind him, Erica pulled out her phone to type a message to the others. Derek left her to it and concentrated on finding a path that would take them as far away from the watchtower as possible.

“We’re right on track,” she said. “We’ll rendezvous with Boyd and the others at Section 64-J, seven and a half miles northwest. It’s the closest drop off point we have to the Guanlongs’ pack and safest place to release Archie and Mitchie.”

“Got it. Hold on tight.”

The drive took the better part of two hours, despite Derek driving as fast as he could, which was par for the course when one was driving through a dense forest and a barely there road path. To be honest, Derek considered it extremely lucky that they didn’t bump into any dangerous dinosaurs, only a few little ones that tried to chase them and some herbivores that were too busy snacking and only gave them a passing glance.

By the time they were minutes away from the designated meet-up point, the early morning sun had already risen and was waking up the forest and its many inhabitants. Derek was sweating through his shirt and feeling incredibly anxious. His gut was telling him to be cautious.

“There! I see Stiles’ Jeep!” Erica pointed at a sight up ahead.

Roscoe was indeed parked just a ways ahead and Derek felt his heart beat excitedly in his chest.

 _Stiles_.

As they got closer and closer, Derek could see more of the field. Aside from Roscoe, a truck was parked with the back thrown open and a ramp pulled out. He could recognize Boyd’s back anywhere and he and another ranger were wheeling out an unconscious Archie at Isaac’s guidance. Stiles, Scott, and another ranger were standing to one side, guarding the similarly unconscious Mitchie.

At the sound of Derek’s motorcycle, all of them turned their way. They were all immediately alert, but the cautiousness eventually tapered off into relief and, for some, delight.

Derek only had eyes  for one man though. Even far away, he could see the flush on Stiles’ cheeks and the whisper of Derek’s name from his lips.

Erica jumped off the motorcycle the moment it was in park and ran over to Boyd. Derek killed the engine before sliding off.

“ _Stiles._ ”

Derek practically charged forward, eyes trained only on the man he loved. As soon as he was close enough, he wrapped one arm tight around Stiles’ lithe frame, wrapped his other hand on the back of the man’s neck, and pressed his lips to Stiles’ smiling ones.

Stiles reciprocated instantly, throwing his arms around Derek’s shoulders and pressing their bodies as close together as possible. Derek was immediately engulfed in the warm feeling of home as he pressed kisses on the other man’s lips and cheeks.

“You’re here,” Stiles whimpered, fisting the back of Derek’s shirt.

“I’m here,” Derek whispered, kissing the shell of Stiles’ ear.

Stiles leaned back, his face flushed pink, lips red and a huge smile on his face. “Hell of a welcome,” he grinned. “The best kind of welcome I’ve ever received, like, ever.”

Derek rolled his eyes, but he knew he was smiling too hard.

Derek couldn’t stop himself from kissing Stiles again. Stiles was _here,_ in his arms, safe and sound.

So of course, that was when things went to hell.

 

 

 

 

“STILES!”

The loud shrieks of a Guanlong shattered their happy moment. Stiles swore under his breath, whipped around at the sounds and gasped as Scott scrambled back to avoid the long sweep of Mitchie’s tail. The dinosaur looked drowsy, but she had obviously regained consciousness and was slowly getting to her feet, snarling and incredibly angry.

Stiles couldn’t help cursing even more. “I love Mitchie and her metabolism must be insane to get rid of the drugs so fast, but I swear to god, she just ruined my moment.”

He looked to the side to see Boyd, Erica, and Isaac’s panicked faces as Archie began twitching and moving. “And she woke Archie up along with her, fucking awesome.”

“Get back!” Derek shouted, grabbing Stiles’ arm and hauling him back. “Get to the trucks and leave the ramps! Get back before they–”

He was interrupted by Mitchie’s loud scream and Stiles immediately grabbed Derek’s hand. No way were they getting separated now.

Stiles followed Derek as they ran for his motorcycle. He called back. “Erica, Boyd! Take Roscoe! Keys are inside! Scott, take the truck! Get Isaac and the rangers out of here and back to base!”

Mitchie was already on her feet, swaying a little, but looking far too alert considering that she had been drugged.

“Her metabolism, oh god.” Stiles couldn’t help muttering to himself as he followed after Derek. “That means our regular dosages won’t work on her. How the hell did that happen? But Archie’s obviously a bit more affected and holy shit, I always knew Mitchie was badass, but this is insane! We drugged her only about five times in the past three years. Does that mean she managed to adapt to it as time went on?”

“Stiles, babe, I love you, but shut it,” Derek growled.

“You shut it, you idiot,” Stiles hissed. “And what a way to break out the ‘I love you’s when we aren’t even dating! You’re lucky I love you too!”

Mitchie let out another blood-curdling screech and this time Archie joined her, also getting to his feet.

“Derek, the truck!” Stiles shouted.

Scott, Isaac and the other ranger, Jonas, were having trouble detaching the ramp from the back of the truck. With the ramp in the way, they couldn’t close the back doors and the truck would have trouble driving off.

Stiles’ eyes widened as Mitchie spotted her prey and slowly made her way towards the truck. Archie followed her, still shaky on his feet, but no less dangerous.

There was a loud horn, interrupting the dinosaurs. Boyd and Erica had already boarded Roscoe and were flashing their lights and making noises to try and distract them.

Derek dived for his motorcycle and did the same, horns blaring and headlamp now aimed at the dinosaurs.

Archie and Mitchie were whipping around, confused by all the noises and lights. The moment the pair’s eyes landed on Derek and Stiles though, they immediately stopped being confused and their piercing gazes narrowed in on them both. Mitchie made a clicking noise in her throat and she and Archie took a step towards them, snarling fiercely.

“Uh-oh, that’s not good,” Stiles muttered. “They recognize us.”

“Oh, you think?” Derek grabbed Stiles’ arm. “Get on!”

Stiles jumped onto the back of Derek’s motorcycle. However, the most vital thing about Guanlongs was that they were _fast_.

“Derek!” Stiles shouted in trepidation.

Just when it looked like they would all end up dinosaur chow, a loud roar cut through the early morning air. All of them, Guanlongs included, stopped in their tracks and looked towards the direction it came from.

Before anyone could do anything, there was another loud road, then another, and another, and another.

“Oh no,” Derek muttered.

“Oh shit,” Stiles agreed.

Archie and Mitchie glanced at one another, throats clicking and hissing as they communicated. The two immediately ran off towards the direction of the dinosaur roars. At the last second, Mitchie looked back, snarled at their direction, and then disappeared into the forest.

Derek looked back at Stiles. “You don’t think–”

Before Stiles could speak, his earpiece beeped loudly. He pulled out an extra one from the pockets of his coat and handed it to Derek. He pressed the button in his own piece in a hurry.

“Danny-boy, what you got for me?”

_“In case you didn’t hear it already, Pack X is on the move.”_

Stiles and Derek shared fearful looks.

Another voice cut in. _“Danny, it’s Isaac. What’s going on?”_

Across the field, Scott and Isaac finally managed to close the back of the truck and got inside safely.

_“Pack X is heading straight for the Guanlongs’ territory, that’s six adult Giganotosauruses against a handful of Guanlongs and their babies. I don’t know if Archie and Mitchie will be of any help, but at this point, their pack will need all the help they can get.”_

“Danny, it’s Derek,” Derek spoke to his own piece. “Location?”

_“Good to hear you’re back, Derek. Pack X seems to be closing in on the Guanlong pack close to the mountainside past the western edge of the forest.”_

_“Shit, that’s not a good place,”_ Boyd’s voice came on. _“The Guanlongs will get boxed in.”_

 _“You better hurry, because Pack X is descending on them, fast,”_ Danny reported. _“I’ll send the ACU your way.”_

“No. Not if all they’re going to do is stop us,” Stiles said firmly.

Danny groaned and snapped. _“I am not letting you go out there without backup, Stilinski!”_

Stiles turned to Derek. Considering the man had just escaped from the custody of the ACU, he was in more of a position to decide.

“Your call, Der.”

Derek nodded. “Boyd, Erica, you’re coming with us. Scott, Isaac, the truck is too big, so you won’t be able to come. Head straight to Watchtower 8 and look for Jordan. He’s on our side. Tell him what’s going on and come after us. All we want is to scare Pack X away without completely hurting them or the Guanlongs, but if worse comes to worst, you guys will be the rescue team. Keep your ears on and don’t play hero. We don’t need it.”

“And don’t get bitten,” he said. “We are facing two packs of dinosaurs who will eat us if we’re not careful. Even if we’re saving them from themselves, they won’t exactly get that and there’s a big chance they won’t be all that grateful. Got that?”

Derek looked back and before Stiles could stop himself, he leaned forward and kissed the man softly on the mouth.

_“Copy that.”_

_“Over and out.”_

He and Derek didn’t need words. The ranger nodded and pecked Stiles on the mouth once more, quick and sweet.

“Let’s go, and be careful everyone.”


	4. Chapter Four

Derek felt Stiles get progressively tenser as they emerged from the western edge of the forest and got closer to the mountainside. It was getting noisier the closer they got and Derek could feel Stiles’ nails dig into the fabric of his clothes.

“There.” Stiles pointed at a path they could take that would lead them high up the mountain and allow them a vantage point above the dinosaurs’ heads. From there, they could easily see the entire field.

Derek drove on, with Roscoe following closely behind as they made the steep climb. They pulled to a stop and got out, letting out similar winces when they heard a distant roar.

Boyd was the first to shake it off. “We’re steep and high enough that the Giganotosauruses won’t be able to climb up and attack us, but the Guanlongs might still get us.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Stiles said. “Pack X is the bigger threat.”

Their plan was simple: scare the Giganotosauruses off – scare the Guanlongs off as well, if necessary – while making sure none of them got clawed as they did so.

It was easy enough on paper, but it will probably be anything but in real life.

Erica crouched beside Derek and opened up their duffel bag. They had brought mostly nonlethal weapons for their plan, and a few dangerous ones only in case of emergencies. They brought flare guns to scare off the dinosaurs or to be used in case of distress, modified air guns to shoot pellets and darts that will hurt and scare but not wound, taser rifles, tear gas canisters, dazzlers, and tranq guns.

They got themselves into position as the sounds steadily grew louder and louder. Birds and aerial dinosaurs erupted from the tops of the trees, interrupted from their perch by all the noise. They heard loud roars, snapping branches and the calls of dinosaurs. The volume of the chaos was almost unbearable that Derek winced.

“Here we go,” Erica muttered, hefting an air gun and pointing it at the tree line.

Derek looked at Stiles. “Be careful.”

Stiles, who had a similar air gun in his hands, nodded back. “You too.”

No sooner were those words spoken when a pack of Guanlongs broke through the forest line and bounded for the mountainside that provided them no cover.

“We’re looking at about seven adults and twelve young.” Boyd frowned. “There are more Guanlongs, but I don’t know how the hell those babies are going to hold up, not against dinosaurs practically three times their size.”

“Goddammit,” Erica cursed angrily, tensing.

A loud roar followed the quaking Guanlongs and Pack X, the Giganotosaurus pack, appeared, all six of them.

“Holy shit. Here we go,” Stiles exclaimed.

“Fire!” Derek growled. “Scare them away before they get closer!”

All four of them immediately started firing, concentrating their modified pellets at the Giganotosaurus edging closest to the Guanlongs. The dinosaur let out a roar and hesitated, obviously in pain but not at all wounded.

Pack X was stopped in their tracks, all the dinosaurs roaring in confused over the source of the attack. One of them, a smaller and probably younger dinosaur, ran off in a panic.

“One down,” Stiles said, reloading his air gun.

The Guanlongs were smart enough to take advantage and Derek could see some of the pack adults, pushing their young to run while the enemy was distracted. However, the adults could not sneak past the combined bulk of the Giganotosauruses and at most, only a handful of the braver young dinosaurs managed to escape.

“Flare!” Erica shouted. Stiles handed her a flare gun and Erica managed to shoot close to the foot of a Giganotosaurus. The dinosaur shrieked in surprise at the burst of pink smoke and stumbled backwards. Peppered by Boyd with even more pellets and eventually the dinosaur turned tail and ran.

“That’s two of six,” Erica said.

“SHIT!” Derek watched as a Giganotosaurus managed to shake off the onslaught and dove for one of the Guanlong adults. It jumped up, managing to evade the killing bite, but just barely. The Giganotosaurus ended up with a few pellets to the neck and torso area courtesy of Derek. The Guanlong it attacked wasn’t stupid though and it immediately reared up, biting the bigger dinosaur’s neck.

The Giganotosaurus roared and shook its body, trying to dislodge the Guanlong. It tripped over its feet in the struggle and the two crashed down onto the ground. The Guanlong reared back, taking a chunk of flesh along with it. The Giganotosaurus was still alive though, and it scrambled up with a roar before running for the hills. In its wake, a few more Guanlongs managed their escape.

“Three down,” Derek muttered. “That’s half of them.”

Pack X wasn’t stupid though and it only took a few more clashes before their gazes turned upward, zeroing in on the pesky humans stopping them from taking down their prey. They roared. The same way, the Guanlongs looked up, curious about the help they were getting.

Boyd cursed and grabbed a taser rifle. He fired it straight at one of the Giganotosaurus, but he missed and the dinosaur roared in anger.

“Shit! Shit!” Stiles muttered as the dinosaur charged towards them. “Guys!”

Boyd fired another taser at the dinosaur as the others readied their limited weapons. It roared in pain and slowed down, but it was still making its way up and closing in on them. Meanwhile, the other two Giganotosauruses returned their attention to the remaining Guanlongs and managed to bite two of the babies before playing tug-of-war with one of their adult prey.

“Fucking shit.” Derek was torn between which dinosaur to shoot.

The next thing they knew Archie and Mitchie appeared out of nowhere snarling, darting out from the forest and pouncing on the Giganotosauruses that had their jaws clamped around one of their packmates. Working together, they climbed over both Giganotosauruses, battling fiercely with the dinosaurs that were more than twice their size.

One of them eventually gave up, unhinging its jaw around the now-dead Guanlong. A fierce swipe of the mated Guanlongs’ claws and the Giganotosaurus fell over, wounded and bleeding.

Derek and the group couldn’t celebrate their victory though. They still had a Giganotosaurus of their own to deal with and it was getting closer.

“Dazzler!” Erica shouted, grabbing the concentrated ball of gas. “Eyes closed!” She then pulled the pin and tossed it right at the dinosaur.

Derek squeezed his eyes shut immediately, even ducked away to hide his head, but he could still see the flash muted behind his eyelids and hear the loud roar of more than a few dinosaurs.

“Fourteen… fifteen… sixteen…” Erica was counting. When it was safe enough, she gave the go ahead. “Clear!”

Derek opened his eyes slowly and looked around. The Giganotosaurus that was attempting to climb up and get to them had tripped over and landed in a heap in the ground. Mitchie, who seemed to be the only Guanlong unaffected – fierce, strong warrior that she was – was immediately on the blinded dinosaur, swiping at its neck and face. Archie hobbled over to try and help, but he and two other pack members ended up getting kicked away by the Giganotosaurus.

“Derek!”

Derek turned around. Stiles’ eyes were wide-open but he looked dazed. He must not have closed his eyes in time or covered them.

“Derek.”

Stiles slipped off the edge of the rock cliff.

“STILES!”

Without hesitation, Derek threw himself off the side too. He heard Erica and Boyd cry out for them, but he ignored it.

Derek managed to control his fall, skidding and sliding along the rocks and gravel. Stiles wasn’t so lucky, tumbling and rolling to a heap until he landed on a relatively smooth patch of rock, close to where Archie had landed.

“Shit!” Derek hefted his air gun in one hand and fired a warning shot. Archie hissed at him, but didn’t move closer.

“Stiles? Stiles!” Derek grabbed him.

“I’m fine,” Stiles said, rubbing his eyes. “I’m fine. Just got a few cuts on his hands, and my face, I think.”

“Get behind me.” Derek moved Stiles to stand behind him. “Come on. We have to get–”

“Dazzler! Eyes closed!” Someone shouted from above them.

Derek immediately dived for Stiles, shielding the man with his body so that he would not get blinded a second time.

It took longer this time for Erica to say that it was okay to open their eyes. When they did, they realized that they were in deep shit.

Despite the temporary blindness of the other dinosaurs, it seemed that Archie and Mitchie were the least affected. They were both standing tall, swaying only a little, and seemed to have taken down the remaining two Giganotosauruses, going by one dinosaur’s backside disappearing in the trees and the other gasping for breath and lying in a pool of its own blood a few feet away.

Archie and Mitchie now concentrated their efforts on the prey that had landed amongst them. The pair and the rest of their pack drew nearer, growling fiercely and throats clicking in anticipation.

Now that Pack X was neutralized, it seemed the Guanlongs were taking advantage of the humans’ exposed position.

Derek kept Stiles behind him, pressing Stiles against the rock and shielding him from the Guanlongs as best as he could.

“Derek,” Stiles whimpered, holding Derek close. “Shit. Derek.”

Derek almost believed that this was it; this was where it all ended…

…when the sound of warning shots echoed in the air.

 All of the Guanlongs turned to the noise.

A familiar truck was headed their way.

“Scott, Isaac,” Stiles huffed in relief. “And they brought the cavalry.” He grinned as the truck rumbled closer, followed by two more plus five jeeps.

Mitchie let out a screech and immediately Archie was in motion, herding the other Guanlongs towards the forest, especially the ones still partially blind. The pack matriarch stayed for a moment and aimed her terrifying gaze at Stiles and Derek, interrupted only by Archie as he looked back and called for his mate. Mitchie looked at the humans in front of her for a few more moments before running off, following her mate and pack into the forest.

“Acknowledgement?” Stiles asked. “And a warning?”

Derek gave him a tired smile. “I think so.”

Boyd and Erica skidded down the side of the mountain after them.

“You two okay?” Boyd asked, patting Derek on the shoulder.

“Mitchie was intense,” Erica commented. “It was like she wasn’t even affected by the dazzler.”

“Oh wow. I gotta research the hell out of that,” Stiles said, chuckling.

“Shut up,” Derek said, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

They looked up as one of the trucks stopped closest to them. Lydia Martin herself stepped out and Derek watched as she approached, still looking put together amidst the carnage surrounding her.

The Director looked around. “What a mess.”

“Psh. It’s your mess. We just added to it,” Stiles said, ever unforgiving with his words and candor.

Lydia took it in stride. “I guess congratulations are in order then. Your plan worked.”

Derek blinked. “That’s it?”

Lydia and Stiles stared at one another, communicating mentally in that way only they do.

“That’s all.” Lydia broke the stare-off with a shrug. She turned on her heels and motioned to a stern-looking Chris and a relieved Jordan who sent them a thumbs up. “Clean this mess up and get everybody back to base in one piece. I don’t even know how the hell we’re going to report this.”

Derek was confused and a little pissed off, but Stiles just chuckled under his breath.

“She’ll never admit she’s wrong. We all know that about her,” he said.

“Well, see if I ever do her any favors then.” Derek rubbed his face tiredly. He missed his trailer, missed his bed, and wanted nothing more than to sleep for three days straight curled up with a certain mad, gorgeous researcher.

“Stiles! Derek! Are you guys okay?” Scott and Isaac called out, slipping out of the trucks.

“We’re fine!” Derek called back, sighing.

Stiles crawled over to him, his brown eyes like molten lava, with a scratch on his cheek, blood and dust all over his clothes, and hair in disarray. Yet he was the most beautiful, wondrous thing Derek had ever seen in the entire Muertes Archipelago.

“We have a week off next month,” Derek remembered. “Don’t forget that we have plans.”

Stiles moved closer and closer, until his breaths were warm against Derek’s face. “They’d better make it two weeks. We fucking deserve it.”

Derek laughed, tired but immensely relieved. Stiles grinned widely and kissed the laughter right out of Derek’s mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

**(A month and a half later)**

Sadly, the entire mess threw a wrench in Stiles and Derek’s plans.

It was more than just dealing with the fallout of the dinosaur war. There was also the matter of going against Lydia’s orders, sneaking out of OMNE, destroying the center’s equipment, and putting people in danger. And, on a bigger scale, there was the fact that they broke more than a few of AMBER’s policies and inquiries were done day after day on everyone involved in the incident.

Stiles thought they got off relatively easy, to be honest. Lydia didn’t even fire any of them or berate them. She seemed resigned and, unfazed by everybody’s cold demeanor towards her, she even seemed proud of what they had done. None of the others would probably believe Stiles though, so he decided to keep quiet on that observation.

As for AMBER, they couldn’t really do anything about what both Lydia and Stiles had done. They tried though, tried to find something to pin on them. It didn’t work in the end, especially after footage was ‘leaked’ to the press showcasing the dinosaurs helping and protecting their pack and the researchers of OMNE fighting for the lives of the dinosaurs under their care.

(For some reason though, the video never managed to catch the faces of these so-called heroes. How odd and fortuitous.)

AMBER was rightfully pissed about the leak, but on the other hand, the story captured the attention of the world, garnering support and awe from millions of people. They couldn’t very well call this a disaster when there were still a lot to be celebrated about in the story. So they decided to spin the whole thing in a positive light instead, and after countless meetings and more than a few nondisclosure contract signings, AMBER finally decided to release the whole story of what became known as ‘The Dinosaur Pack Wars.’

Stiles found himself at the forefront of it all. He wasn’t stupid and it wasn’t surprising. The Guanlongs were his and OMNE’s poster dinosaurs to improve people’s perception and acceptance of the creatures. While Lydia became the symbol of leadership, Stiles become the symbol of scientific and progressive research with a _heart_.

Sentimental, but Stiles would take it.

The so-called war was still going on though. The Giganotosauruses never really stopped attacking other packs. It was their natural behavior, after all. But they were constantly being monitored by the control center, the ACU, Stiles and his behavioral research team to ensure that they do not fully endanger the lives of the people and the other dinosaurs.

In fact, there was a proposal in Stiles’ laptop, already drafted and waiting editing, with a plan to provide Pack X with its own little slice of dino heaven over at Isla Tacaño. There were enough dinosaurs to feed them and play with, but these were either aquatic dinosaurs, dinosaurs the same size or larger than them, or even migratory dinosaurs that held no permanent territory. If Stiles was right – and his theories usually were – it would at least give the Giganotosauruses the impression of having a large territory if they could keep chasing other dinosaurs around.

That way other dinosaurs like would be safe; like Panpy, who was safely returned to her pack after finally getting her prosthetic fitted on; and Archie and Mitchie who last Stiles heard was slowly rebuilding their pack and were even expecting their own nest of dino eggs in a few months.

However, despite all the successes and happy endings, Stiles was still itching to solve the biggest mystery of them all…

…or rather, he’d already solved it. He just needed to set a few things straight.

 

 

 

 

“Escaping the crowd?”

Lydia kept her gaze on the crowd below, fingers tapping idly on the railings. “There are only so many times I can answer the same inane questions. You would think that people would learn to be more creative and think outside the box when faced with the miracles that are dinosaurs.”

“Well, not everyone shares our appreciation for them, I suppose,” Stiles said, leaning his elbows against the railing.

Even when doing some schmoozing with these AMBER ambassadors and members of the international press, Stiles kept his trademark lab coat on, though he did make sure to wear a neat, albeit wrinkled, blue button-down and his nicest trousers.

OMNE’s Director, on the other hand, had always been quite a looker, but there was something softer about her right now in her white, fluffy-looking blouse, high-waisted trousers and heels. Stiles would think she looked a touch humbler than before.

The rumble of the crowd below them was still going strong, but up here, just the two of them, it was almost as if they were in a separate world.

“I figured it out, you know. Why you did it.”

Lydia turned to him, head tilted to the side, inquiring and curious, amused even.

Stiles kept his gaze down below and gave voice to something he had been mulling about endlessly over the past weeks.

“It struck me as odd that you would tell Kira and Jackson, but not me. Your head geneticist and your head legal counsel, but not your head behaviorist and researcher – even though you said this was a classified _behavioral_ _research_.”

The corner of his lip tilted up in amusement. “Not to mention Danny was all too willing to help us sneak Archie and Mitchie out. That man is loyal to you above all others. He’d think twice if asked to pick between you and Isaac, and that’s saying something.”

“But Danny isn’t the only one good with computers. And there are perks to having a high security clearance level. Not to mention that I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who knows the password to your computer, that is if somebody else knew about the day you…” He glanced at the face Lydia made. “Okay, just me, then.”

Stiles felt a pang in his chest, still hurting at the divide that now ran deep between him and the woman he respected the most as his friend and his boss.

“You’re the smartest woman I know. After that first time Pack X attacked the Iguanodon pack, I know that you knew this was going to be dangerous, not just because there are killer dinosaurs on the loose, but the fact that this could end up disastrous for OMNE.”

“If there are killers at our door, what else could we do but defend ourselves? Yet the sole reason we are here is to take care of these dinosaurs and study them. We do not interfere. But which is the better option? To abandon OMNE and save ourselves, or save most of the dinosaurs by killing a few?”

Stiles looked at Lydia. “We were between a rock and a hard place and you were the only one who knew about it.”

Lydia remained quiet, neither agreeing to or denying Stiles’ theory, but Stiles knew he was right.

“Jackson filed the paperwork at AMBER classifying the dinosaur war as a study and why you cannot take action. It is in accordance with our policies to protect and our job to study these creatures.”

“But you couldn’t be sure there was anything wrong with them. Kira was the one who figured out that Pack X’s behavior was a recurring pattern over the past few months. She was your proof that this was not the fault of genetics, that it was not OMNE tampering with their growth. This was animal behavior at its basest and purely their own. Kira was proof that this Pack was their own breed, not one borne from InGen’s experiments or our own.”

Stiles turned around, leaning back against the railings and looking up at the ceiling, hanging from which were the national flags of every single country that supported AMBER and OMNE’s cause. The Philippines had a particularly fetching flag.

“So OMNE is protected, on a technicality, but AMBER will still find fault, especially if the casualties continued to pile up. You needed someone to handle this issue differently.”

“And this is where you came in?” Lydia asked, eyebrow raised.

Stiles turned to her with a grin. “A behavioral research – of rampaging dinosaur packs, no less – that is not being handled by your head behaviorist, especially when said man would have been willing to do all the dirty work for you? How odd, wouldn’t you think?”

“Dirty work, you make it sound so unsavory.” Lydia’s face scrunched up in distaste. “And you are giving me far too much credit. I admit that certain matters were by my hand, but there were some things even I could not have predicted.” She looked back over the crowd.

“But yes, I needed somebody to move independently of what I had planned.” She sighed and turned to him with a resigned, yet proud, smile. “You are OMNE’s greatest asset. Your research into packs and herds is one of the reasons dinosaurs have stopped becoming something to be feared. Dinosaurs are natural killing machines, yes, but you have proven they are also creatures of comfort, family, packs, and mates.”

“Having you at the other side to prove that that is still the case... it was why I let you do what you thought was right.” She shrugged. “And it’s not as if AMBER would even dare let you go for any reason, even if it was disobeying me.”

“Your methods to achieve that leave a lot to be desired. You didn’t have to lie,” Stiles said, finally letting accusation and disappointment color his voice.

Lydia sighed. “I’ve been running OMNE independently for a few years now out of necessity. Politics is never easy and AMBER always had an eye trained on us, as did the rest of the world. Cases like Pack X or worse are going to happen eventually and it was high time people realized how far they are willing to go to uphold OMNE’s purpose. It’s about time I’m not just the only person running this place.”

“OMNE is all of us. If we want to keep on caring for these creatures, OMNE as a whole needs to become stronger, not just me…” she paused, “or rather in spite of me.”

They both lapsed into silence for a moment, each busy with their own thoughts. They broke out of it only when the moderator down below played one of Lydia’s most famous speeches, the speech she gave when they first named her Director for OMNE, the words that Stiles lived by and believed in.

 

_“Decades have passed and it is still being debated upon on whether or not these creatures require the absence or presence of men to thrive. Some would rather we leave well enough alone, while others want to find a way to coexist with what are essentially our ancestors._

 

At that moment, the elevator doors opened behind them with a happy ‘ding,’ revealing Allison, Lydia’s assistant Ian… and Derek?

Allison sent Stiles a small smile before turning to Lydia. “Director, shall we?”

Playing this former speech was the precursor to the story Lydia would be sharing with them all today, one where she explained to the whole world what happened with Pack X.

 

_I do not find myself to be the most qualified person to answer that question. I don’t even believe that there is a right answer to such a question. However, there is one thing that OMNE and myself believes in: that it would be a greater injustice not to take action when we are in a position to help.”_

 

Lydia smirked. “The narrative I will be giving won’t be considered a research or a study, but it still is a compelling story, one that people all over the world would find both shocking and awe-inspiring, don’t you think?”

The apology was evident in her eyes and her tone of voice, but not in her words. While Stiles knew this would change their friendship forever, he also knew that if he was going to leave OMNE’s fate to somebody, he’d still pick Lydia Martin.

Stiles grinned. “I agree.”

Lydia straightened her blouse. “Dr. Stilinski, I was made aware that you and Mr. Hale were planning to take your week off at the same time last month, but you haven’t had the time because of all that happened.” She glanced at Derek. “I expect you both back at OMNE in three weeks then.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Derek said, stiff but respectful.

“Gentlemen.” Lydia tipped her head to them and walked off.

 

_“It would be foolish of us to keep blaming what our predecessors have done, to keep holding grudges or to think of ourselves as atoning for one sin or the other, as if these would heal the wounds and fill the void that these creatures have suffered at our hands.”_

 

Derek snaked an arm around Stiles’ waist and Stiles smiled when he felt the man’s warm body press up against his back.

“You ready?” he asked, pressing a kiss to a spot just below Stiles’ ear.

Stiles turned around and wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck. He kissed Derek on the mouth, warm and soft in a way that was becoming more and more familiar. Derek’s big hands rubbed his back soothingly, helping Stiles let go of the remaining tension he was carrying.

OMNE was his life’s work and his heart’s passion. Things would never be the same, but he was sure that all of them would be all the stronger for it.

 

_“There is only now and today. There is only this moment to keep moving forward and do what we can, what we must, for these creatures, to respect them and learn how to coexist with them against the sixty-five million years of evolution separating us. This is their home now and we have to learn to share that._

 

“Always,” Stiles said against Derek’s lips. He kissed him softly one last time and let Derek lead him away.

 

_“Our purpose at OMNE is the care, preservation, and protection of these creatures; and you can be sure that we will continue to do so to the best of our abilities.”_

 

“And with that, let us all welcome AMBER Ambassador and OMNE’s Director, Lydia Martin.”

 

 

 

**END**


	5. Chapter Five - Artwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please send some love to my wonderful artists - JC and Galadriel!

**Artworks by JC**

[Sites: [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JCMaxwellyuy/profile) & [FF.NET](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/144839/JC-Maxwell-Yuy)]

 

 

 

 

**Artworks by Galadriel**

[Sites: [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel34) & [LIVEJOURNAL](http://galadriel34.livejournal.com/) & [TUMBLR](http://galadriel34.tumblr.com/) & [DEVIANTART](http://galadriel34.deviantart.com/)]

 

 

 

 

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Arts for The Theory of No Control](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8387581) by [Galadriel34](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel34/pseuds/Galadriel34)




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